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THE DOCUMENTS
OF
THE NEW TESTAMENT
TRANSLATED & HISTORICALLY ARRANGED
WITH CRITICAL INTRODUCTIONS
BY
G. W. WADE, D.D., HON, D D. (WALES)
Canon of St. Aiaph
WITH A FOREWORD BY
THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF MONMOUTH
1934
LONDON : THOMAS MURBY & CO,, 1, FLEET LANE, E.G.
ALUREDO GEORGIO
ARCHJEPISCOPO CAUBRENSI EMERITO
FORTITUDINE CONSILIO DILIGENTIA PRMDITO
QUI ECCLESIM CHR1STI IN CAMBRIA MILITANT! SUMMA OPE DIU INSERVI1T
HOC OPUSCULUM DEDICAT AUCTOR
FOREWORD
It must be confessed that the habit of Bible reading is less
in evidence to-day than it was in past generations, when the
Family Bible was in daily use. But while the purely devotional
study of the Word of God may have become less common, it is,
on the other hand, true that the intelligent and reverent study
of the Bible, as the record of God's revelation, has increased,
and is still increasing. Whereas a century since such study was
pursued only by professional scholars equipped with a know-
ledge of the ancient languages, there is now a large public
following with deep interest the developments of Biblical
criticism, and the researches of Biblical scholars. Provision for
the needs of the English reader in these matters is demanded,
and is furnished in many different forms. Among these is to
be reckoned the production of new translations of the Old and
New Testaments, distinguished not only by the use of modern
speech, but also by their constant reliance on recent important
advances in textual criticism, in philology, and in archaeology.
To this class of work the present volume belongs, while it
undoubtedly possesses a specific character of its own.
In the Introduction will be found a concise statement of the
principal issues of New Testament criticism, as they present
themselves to those who loyally and reverently accept the Church's
faith in Jesus Christ. Since it is no longer taken for granted
that every word in the Four Gospels must necessarily be a
precisely exact record of the historical event, the reader must
seek to determine what allowance, if any, should be made for
later additions or alterations. Dr. Wade does not pretend to
answer this question, but contents himself with suggesting the
main considerations to be borne in mind in the search for a
solution.
The main body of the book is a translation which deliberately
follows a course midway between an exact literal rendering of
the original, and a paraphrase intended to bring out the mean-
ing of the writer. Where a passage is capable of two or more
interpretations, Dr. Wade has assumed the responsibility of a
commentator, making plain in his free rendering the view which
he considers to be the more probable. In this way his transla-
viii FOREWORD
tion becomes a running commentary, exhibiting the conclusions
which a Biblical scholar has reached after an exhaustive study
of contending interpretations. I venture to express the confi-
dent hope that many readers will be grateful for the assistance
which they will derive from this book in their intelligent appre-
ciation of the writings of the New Testament.
GILBERT MONMOUTH.
PREFACE
In view of the excellent translations of the New Testament
which exist already, another English version may well be deemed
superfluous. Nevertheless, for the work here offered some
justification may perhaps be found in certain special features
marking it. It is meant not only to furnish an accurate, yet
not literal, rendering of the Greek, but also to provide with
various aids those who are beginning the historical study of the
N.T. documents.
In general, a good translation should be a transcript, in the
idioms of one language, of the ideas expressed by the original
author in the idioms of another. The use, indeed, of modern
phraseology in translating ancient writings inevitably results in
some incongruities, since complete uniformity is out of the ques-
tion. But to the present translator it has seemed that more
is gained than lost by replacing, even at the cost of some in-
consistency, various Greek (or Hebrew) terms and modes of
speech by current English equivalents. Where the signi-
ficance of the original is disputable, he has not retained its
obscurity ; but has tried to convey to the reader, without any
ambiguity, that meaning which, after much consideration, he
has judged to be the most probable. Moreover, in many
places he has introduced connecting or explanatory clauses
(distinguished by italics) in order to elucidate the bearing of a
statement, or to bridge a gap between one stop in an argument
and the next.
An effort has been made to represent the method of com-
position adopted by the authors of some of the documents, who
have embodied in their own writings materials derived from a
predecessor. It is generally admitted that among the first three
Evangelists the First and the Third have borrowed from the
Second, and have incorporated parts of the latter's narrative,
in some places word for word, in others with much variation.
Accordingly, care has been taken, wherever the language of St.
Mark has been appropriated by the other Synoptists, to repro-
duce, in rendering the Matthaean and Lucan parallels, both the
resemblances and the divergences observable between the Evan-
gelists, in spite of some resultant clumsiness in the English. An
attempt has also been made to indicate in the same way a
common element, accompanied by differences, in the First and
Third Gospels, where this appears to be drawn from another
earlier narrative, which, unlike St. Mark, is no longer extant.
ix
x PREFACE
A few minute distinctions in the Greek have had to be
ignored, since they could only have been represented by cumbrous
circumlocutions.
Inasmuch as the Synoptic writers, in spite of including in
their Gospels so much common material, have each a number
of distinctive phrases, some of these have been retained in an
English dress, although a monotonous effect is often produced in
consequence. But notwithstanding this drawback, it has seemed
desirable to convey thus to an English reader some idea of the
characteristic diction of the Evangelists in question.
The passages in the First and Third Gospels for which the
Evangelists are indebted to the work of predecessors are marked
in the Translation by familiar symbols. In Acts, where the
author has embodied portions of a Journal or Diary, kept by
himself or another, these are likewise indicated. Similarly in
the case of II Peter, certain parts, which seem to have been
derived from the Epistle of St. Jude, have a distinguishing sign
prefixed to them.
Further, since it is becoming recognized that among the
Epistles some arc probably of composite origin, fragments of
different Letters having been purposely or accidentally united
together, it has been thought well, where there seems sufficient
reason for supposing that this has happened, to disentangle the
constituents of such Epistles; and these have been printed
separately. Additional help is afforded to students of the N.T.
by the arrangement of its various contents in the chronological
order in which it is believed that they originated; whilst every
book is preceded by a concise Introduction, summarizing the
external and the internal evidence for the authorship, the place
of origin, and the date of it.
Prefixed to the Translation as a whole is a more extensive
Introduction to the Study of the Historical narratives, in which
an effort is made to explain the conditions that brought these into
existence, and to review the considerations which have to be taken
into account in drawing conclusions about the value of their
contents.
The Greek text underlying the Translation is substantially
that of Westcott and Hort, though this statement requires some
qualification, (i) In a few places the reading of their margin
has been preferred to that of their text. (2) Their punctuation
has sometimes been disregarded. (3) A small number of read-
ings, lacking strong MS. support, but possessing much intrinsic
plausibility, and a few conjectural emendations, proposed by
various scholars, where the MS. readings present great diffi-
culties, have been adopted; and are marked by asterisks. (4)
Various chapters and verses have been transposed, where the
succession of events, or the sequence of thought, is thereby ren-
dered more natural or logical. (5) In one place in the Third
Gospel and in several places in Acts some passages, though not
occurring in the best MSS., have been introduced (between
PREFACE xi
pointed brackets) on account of their interest. (6) Here and
there, a few words and clauses, which, though found in good
MSS., look like accidental duplicates, or interpolated glosses,
are enclosed within square brackets. It should be added that,
as the book is intended primarily for English readers, the use of
Greek characters has been avoided throughout.
Much of the information collected by the writer for his New
Testament History (Methuen, 1922, 2nd ed. 1932) has been
utilized again ; and it has not been thought necessary to repeat
here the authorities there cited. But gratitude for help in various
degrees is due to numerous scholars whose works had either not
appeared prior to the publication of the earlier book, or else
appeared too late to be fully utilized in the preparation of it.
Among such scholars are Abbott-Smith, Bacon, Bernard, Charles,
Creed, Crum, Dalman, Easton, P. N. Harrison, Headlam,
Hoskyns and Davey, Klausner, Lawrie, Lock, McNeile,
Matthews, Moffatt, Moulton and Milligan, Rawlinson, Streeter,
Vincent Taylor, Warschauer, Wright, and certain of the con-
tributors to the New Commentary (edited by Bp. Gore and
others) and to the Journal of Theological Studies. Moffatt 's
New Translation of the New Testament, Weymputh's New
Testament in Modern Speech, the anonymous Twentieth Century
New Testament, and Way's Letters of St. Paul and Hebrews
have also been consulted with advantage; and for the assistance
derived from them cordial acknowledgments are here tendered to
their authors.
Finally, he wishes to express his indebtedness to the generous
aid given to him by his wife, who, grudging neither time nor
labour, has prepared the greater part of the MS. for the press,
and whose opinion, when her advice has been sought in regard to
the choice of words and phrases, has proved of very great value.
It is perhaps not inappropriate that one, whose duty it has
been, in the course of nearly half a century, to listen to, or read,
the translations of many hundreds of pupils, should, after the
close of that long period, submit to the criticism of others a
Translation of his own. He cannot, of course, expect his work
to be wholly free from accidental oversights, inaccurate state-
ments, inconsistencies of method, and infelicities of expression ;
but he trusts that they are not numerous enough to deprive the
book of all worth. The Archbishop of Wales* has most kindly
allowed the volume to be dedicated to him ; whilst the Bishop
of Monmouth, having read a large part of it in proof, has con-
sented to give an estimate of it in a Foreword. If such a
philosophical and scholarly critic finds himself able to say some-
thing in its favour, his judgment creates a hope that the work,
notwithstanding its defects, may prove of some use to those for
whom it is designed. To both of these generous friends grateful
thanks are here returned.
*Smce these words were written, the Archbishop has resigned his
high office.
KEY
TO THE BOOKS OF THE N.T., AS ARRANGED IN THIS TRANSLATION.
PAGE
PAGE
Matthew
326
II Tim. 4. 5b-8 ...
... 184
Mark
194
4. 9-12
... 183
Luke
257
4- i3-J5 .••
in
John (om. 7. 53—8. 11)
... 477
4. 16-18*
... 156
7« 53 — 8 ii ...
31 3
4- i8b, 19
185
Acts
387
4. 20, 2Ia
in
Romans i. — 15
. 126
4. 2Ib, 22a
185
16
1 53
4. 22b
183
I Corinthians . ...
76
Titus i. i — 3. ii
557
II Cor. i.— 9
,, 3. 12—15
no
(om. 6. 14 — 7
II Cor. 6. 14 — 7. i
I) 112
74
Philemon ... .
Hebrews
... .63
... 236
10 — 1 1
1 02
Tames
g £
) i * *-*• * j
Galatians
I Peter
185
Kphesians
165
II Peter
... 535
Philippians
I7*\
I John .
... 52 5
Colossi ans
'o
II John
. 532
1 Ihessalomans
. 46
Ill John
.- 534
II Miessalonians
Jude
233
I 'I iniothv
C4*7
The Revelation
447
II fun. i. 1-14
554
i. 15-18
184
2. 1—3. 9 ...
554
3- 10, ii
184
3. 12-17
••• 557
4 i, 2*
... 184
4. 2b-ca
557
Galatians
Fragment of I Cor.
( = 11 Cor. 6. 14—7- i)
// Cor. ( = 1 Corinthians)
Fragment of III Cor.
( = 11 Cor. 10 — 13)
Fragment of Titus
( = Tit. 3. 12-15) -
Fragments of I Timothy
(=-II Tim. 4. 13-15,
5i
52-55
52
55
55
55
55
55
Fragment ef IV Cor.
( = 11 Cor. 1—9) ......
Q, Note on .........
Romans i — 15 ......
Fragment of an Ep. to Ephesus
( = Rom. 16) ...... 56
Fragment of II Timothy
( = 11 Tim. 4. 16-18*) 56 or 57
Colossians ......... 59
Philemon ......... 59
Ep. of uncertain destination
A D.
59
61
61
PROBABLE ORDER AND DATES OF THE N.T.
DOCUMENTS
(Many of the dates are very uncertain)
A.D.
I, II Thessalonians
James
Philippians
Fragments of III Timothy
( = 11 Tim. 4. 9 12, 22*>)
Fragments of IV Timothy
( = 11 Tim. 1. 15-18; 3. lo-ii
4. i, 2a,5b-8, i8b, 19, 21^
22a)
Ep. of Peter ( = 1 Pet.)
Mark
Jude
20, Hebrews
Luke
Matthew
55
55-60
56
61
.. 63
65 or 68
65 or 70
after 70
80
80-85
85-95
.. 90-96
90-100
90-100
Acts
Revelation ... ...
John .........
I. II, III John ...
Ep. of unknown authorship
( = 11 Pet.) ... 95-120
Pastoral Epp.
(Exclusive of the sections
previously noted)... 100-125
xiii
PATRISTIC WRITERS CITED
Nantes A.D.
Clement (of Rome) died in 95 or 100
The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles ... ... written about 100
Ignatius d. 107 or 117
Marcion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... d. after 138
Justin Martyr ... d. after 150
Polycarp ... d. 156
Papias ... d. 156?
Muratonan Catalogue ... ... . . corn-piled 170-180
Irenams . . ... d. 202
Clement (of Alexandria) .. . ... . ... d. after 203
Tertulhan * ... d. 220-240
Origen . . ... ... . ... ... ... d. 253
Cyprian ... . d. 258
Dionysius (of Alexandria) . . . ... .. . . d. after 265
Victor inus . ... ... ... ... ... ... d. 284-305
Eusebius (of Caesarea) .. ... ... ... ... d. 340
Jerome .. ... ... ... ... ... ... d. 430
CERTAIN MSS. TO WHICH REFERENCE IS MADE
Name
Vatican
Sinaitic
Alexandrine
Ephraemi
Bezan
Freer
Ferrar Cursives
Date
Fourth century
Fourth century
Fifth century
Fifth century
Fifth, or sixth, century
Fifth century
Twelfth to fifteenth century
Place where
preserved
Rome
London
London
Paris
Cambridge
Washington
Various localities
INTRODUCTION
TO THE HISTORICAL STUDY OF THE N.T.
(i) THE CIRCUMSTANCES PRODUCING THE GOSPELS.
Before History can be extracted from the N.T. documents, they
require to be sifted, and their dates, and their worth as authorities,
estimated. Though some of them purport to be historical narra-
tives, whilst others are only Letters, Homilies, or theological
Treatises, the former are not necessarily the most valuable for the
modern historian ; at all events, the earliest in date, whatever their
nature, claim first attention. Such are the Pauline and some of the
other Epistles; for several of these precede even the earliest of the
surviving historical narratives by more than a dozen years The
testimony, indeed, which they bear to the ministry of our Lord is
slight (St. Paul, for example, rarely quotes Sayings of Christ, and
mentions in detail none of the marvellous acts recorded of Him) ; but
there are some references to events in His Life, and numerous
allusions to His Death and Resurrection. Moreover, almost all the
Epistles contain the names of their real or ostensible writers, and
in the case of most of them there is no sufficient reason for doubting
their authenticity ; whereas the Gospels are all anonymous, though
of two the authorship may plausibly be inferred. Again, among the
historical narratives some are prior to the rest, and consequently
-prima facie deserve to be regarded as the most authoritative, though
it must not be overlooked that the later of two works may include
materials anterior in date to the earlier ; and (as will be seen) there
is reason to believe that this is the case with some of the N.T. docu-
ments. As explained in the Preface, it is to facilitate in some
measure the historical study of the writings of the N.T. that the
arrangement in which they are commonly presented is here replaced
by another, in closer accord with the chronological order in which
they probably came into existence. This re-arrangement has more
than one advantage. Firstly, it brings to the forefront those writ-
ings (the Epistles) which contain the earliest references to Christian
beliefs and practices, however occasional and cursory many of the
allusions to these are. To ignore the Epistles in connection with the
historical study of the N.T., and to concentrate exclusively upon the
Gospels and Acts, is to disregard several documents which are not
only prior in origin to the historical narratives, but, in respect of
certain matters mentioned, are also first-hand authorities; whereas
it is likely that the Gospels altogether, and Acts to a large extent,
1
2 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
are second-hand sources. And in the next place, the Epistles throw
much light upon the conditions in which the Gospels themselves
were ultimately produced; and suggest how they came to comprise
certain of the matters that constitute their contents. From the
Epistles can be derived some notion of the questions to which the
Gospels were written to supply answers; and some idea of the
considerations which decided the choice of subjects for inclusion in
the accounts of Christ's ministry, when such were called for. Since
rolls of papyrus were generally of limited dimensions, a single roll
(if it were desired to use no more) would not contain all that could
be narrated, even concisely, about that ministry ; and so a writer
was compelled to make a selection from the materials at his com-
mand. The selection, however, was not arbitrary, but must have
been, in great part, dictated by the needs or wishes of the Christian
community of which he happened to be a member. What these
needs and wishes were can be inferred not only from some of the
subjects with which the Epistles are largely concerned, but also
from certain peculiarities of the Gospels themselves.
That the historical writings of the N.T. were intended
primarily for those who were already professed Christians appears
from the abruptness with which the principal characters in them
are introduced : nothing is said, for instance, at the beginning of
the Gospel of St. Mark to explain who John the Baptist and Jesus
were (i. 4, 9). Their names were cherished among the Christian
communities, and certain beliefs were entertained about them; but
traditions orally transmitted would suffice to satisfy enquirers living
within the first generation subsequent to the Crucifixion ; and for
some while there would be little demand for written narratives
about the ministry of either. The thoughts of the primitive
Church could not fail to be turned to the future rather than to the
past; interest would be concentrated less upon memories of Jesus'
life on earth in conditions of lowliness than upon the prospect of
His Return in glory, to bring the existing constitution of the world
to an end, and to inaugurate the Reign of God, of which both He
and His Apostles predicted the nearness. Consequently, so far as
His earthly ministry occupied men's minds, it would be accounts
of His Death and Resurrection which at first principally absorbed
attention. This conclusion is not only intrinsically probable, but
is confirmed by explicit statements in the earliest documents con-
tained in the New Testament, namely, the Epistles of St. Paul and
others. In / Cor. u. 23-26; 15. 3-8 (see also / Th. i. 10; Rom. i.
4; 5. 6; 8. n) the author affirms that included in the instruction
which he himself had received, and had transmitted to others whom
he had taught, were the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus before
His arrest, His atoning death by crucifixion, His resurrection from
among the dead two days later, His Messiahship, His unique rela-
tion to God (as being His Only Son), His exaltation to the highest
dignity that it was possible for His Heavenly Father to bestow,
and His expected descent from Heaven to judge mankind; and it
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 3
is also implied that prophecies about many of these events were
contained in the Old Testament Scriptures. The sacrifice of Jesus
on the Cross to save men from their sins; His restoration to re-
newed Life; and His future return in Glory are matters to which
St. Peter also alludes (/ Pet. i. 19; 2. 24; 3. 18; i. 3, 21; 4. 13, 17).
The Resurrection, especially, was the subject of the early preach-
ing of both St. Peter and St. Paul, according to the summary
reports in Acts 2. 24, 32; 3. 15; 4. 10; 13. 30, etc. These Apostles,
however, furnish in their own writings no account of the circum-
stances under which Jesus was crucified ; nor do they explain
where, after His Crucifixion, He first appeared to some of His
followers, or in what form the belief about His Resurrection was
then held — whether a resuscitation of the physical Body was thought
to have occurred, and the tomb to have been left empty; or whether
the proof of His Risen Life consisted of visionary experiences only.
But obviously deep interest concerning some or all of these subjects
was bound eventually to be awakened; and although information
about them could be obtained by some people through intercourse
with those who claimed either to have been themselves actual witnesses
of what was related (cf. Acts i. 22; 10. 34-41), or to have been in
contact with such witnesses, it could only reach others through
written records, if these should be produced in any quarter. It
is clear from allusions in Acts and elsewhere that in various com-
munities of Christians oral instruction was regularly given with
a view to strengthening their faith (see Acts 2 42; n. 26; 15. 35;
28. 31); and from the phrase used by St Luke, m the preface to
his Gospel (i. 4), such instruction seems to have resembled
catechetical teaching. But though the Death and Resurrection of
the Lord must have been the principal, they could not have been
the sole, matters in which interest was felt There existed, for
instance, small groups of disciples of John the Baptist ; and a subject
of enquiry would be the relations of John and Jesus to one another
during their lifetime Allusions, in the course of the Apostles'
missionary addresses, would be made to incidents in the ministry
of Jesus, to His deeds of mercy, to His marvellous displays of Power
(Acts 2 22-36; 10. 38), and to His patience; and details would be
demanded. Church meetings would be held under the leadership of
the Apostles, and curiosity would be felt about the occasion of the
appointment of the latter by Jesus. Church rites (Baptism as well
as the Eucharist) were regularly observed, and some explanation
of their origin would be called for.
But more particularly would problems of conduct emerge and
press for solution. Such would concern the relations of Jewish and
Gentile Christians both with each other, and, collectively, with their
surrounding Jewish and heathen neighbours It might, for
example, be asked what precedent or authority, if any, was to be
found in the words or acts of Jesus for the keeping (after Jewish
tradition) of the Sabbath or other holy days and seasons (cf. Rom
14. 5 f.), or what light was thrown, by anything that He had said,
2
4 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
upon the duty of Christians in regard to Jewish regulations about
certain foods (cf. I Cor. 8, Col. 2. 20-23), upon the payment oi
taxes by Christians to heathen sovereigns (cf. Rom. 13. 1-7), and
upon the binding nature of marriage under all circumstances (cf.
/ Cor. 7. 8-24). And actual illustrations of how appeals to Sayings
of the Lord were made by an Apostle, when giving admonitions to
his converts, are furnished by St. Paul's citation of words of Christ
in connection with the duty of supporting fellow Christians in need,
and with the claims of Christian missionaries to maintenance by
those amongst whom they were toiling (Acts 20 35, / Cor. 9. 14).
There would consequently ensue an urgent longing for the collection
and diffusion of all the knowledge procurable about the instruction
which the Lord had given to those who had companied with Him.
Since Jesus Himself left no writings behind Him, it was only
through oral traditions (as has been already observed) that
reminiscences of His Life could be preserved and handed down in
the course of the years immediately following His death. Such
reminiscences would often be isolated stones, which had retained
a place in the recollections of people because they included some re-
markable manifestation of Power on the part of Jesus, or some arrest-
ing parable or allegory related by Him, or some incident leading to
His uttering an impressive maxim or precept that summarized the
principles of conduct which He commended to men. Within a very
few years, however, reports of events or instructions, transmitted
orally, would become inexact and fluctuating ; and during the period
wherein the only accounts' of our Lord's life and ministry depended,
for their survival, on treacherous memories, the particulars of numer-
ous occurrences could scarcely fail to diverge and vary. Moreover,
the blurring effect produced upon oral traditions by the mere lapse
of time would be intensified, after 70 A.D., by the catastrophe of the
Fall of Jerusalem, for such an event was calculated to obliterate
from many minds recollections of much that had happened before
it. Conditions like these would foster in the Christian communities
a desire for the preservation, in writing, of all the surviving tradi-
tions about Jesus that could be trusted. The demand for the collec-
tion of such would become the more insistent in proportion as the
interval before His expected Return from Heaven grew more and
more prolonged, and deferred hopes about the future created greater
interest in the past It was to meet this demand that the earliest
documents, recording more or less consecutively, from the first,
what He had said and done, came into existence. Moreover, as the
years following the destruction of Jerusalem multiplied, and the
Church's spiritual experiences grew more extensive, memories of
the ministry of Jesus would tend to be reviewed in the light of
these; and there would be a disposition to compose a narrative of
that ministry in which history would be coloured by theological
reflection.
Written records, when such took the place of previous oral tradi-
tions, must have inevitably reproduced in some measure the quality
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 6
of the latter, so that even the earliest of the N,T. histories, compiled,
as they were, in an, uncritical age, cannot be expected to be equally
trustworthy in every part. Nevertheless, that efforts would be made
by the compilers of such documents to obtain information from those
who were best qualified to give it, and that care would be taken
to represent it accurately (according to the literary standards of
the time) is suggested by what is affirmed by St. Luke about him-
self and others in the preface to his Gospel (i. 1-4). Obviously
the most reliable channels through which information could reach
those who were anxious to receive it were the Apostles of the Lord,
so long as these remained alive; and there is good reason to believe
that the recollections of certain among them he behind more than
one of the Gospel histories.
Probably the earliest document to be drawn up relating to the
ministry of our Lord was one mentioned by Papias, who affirms
that " Matthew compiled the oracles (of the Lord) in the Hebrew
language, and each reader interpreted them as he was able.'1 In
this statement the expression " the oracles " would seem to designate
accounts of what Jesus both said and did (cf. p. 125) ; the term
" Hebrew " is probably used loosely for " Aramaic " ;l and " inter-
preted " is most naturally understood in the sense of " translated "
into Greek. The document in question has not survived : whether
some of the writers of the Gospels derived materials from it at second-
hand is a subject for conjecture (see below)
Another early document, which has also disappeared, can be
substantially reconstructed from certain passages in the First and
Third Gospels — passages which are so similar that they must have
been borrowed in common from some source, but have not been
borrowed from Mk. It is possible, indeed, in the abstract, that of
the writers of Mt. and Lk. one may be indebted to the other for
these passages, but this is unlikely (see p. 124), and most probably
both have drawn upon an earlier document. This source is generally
denoted by the letter Q, a symbol suggested by some German
scholars, and taken from the German word for " source." Since,
however, it is very questionable whether in the passages common
to Mt. and Lk. alone there is comprised the whole of this document,
certain critics prefer to denote it by S ( = " source "), retaining Q
for those portions of it which are embodied in Mt. and Lk. This
hypothetical source may have been in origin anterior to Mk. (see
p. 198) as well as to the other two Synoptic Gospels. Its contents
appear to have included many illustrations of our Lord's teaching,
and narratives of one or two miracles; but its original plan and
scope are doubtful. It seems not improbable that the writer was
indebted to the collection of " oracles " just mentioned — presumably
in a Greek rendering.
Of the surviving written records of Jesus' ministry the earliest is
1 The name Gabbatha, though called Hebrew in Joh. 19. 13, is
really Aramaic : cf. also 19. 17; Acts i. 19.
6 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
the Gospel of St. Mark. Its purpose (as the opening words imply)
was to present an account of the Good News conveyed to man through
the words and works of Jesus, which gave evidence of His being
the Christ, God's Son, and thereby of the fulfilment of divine pro-
mises made through the Hebrew prophets. The Evangelist's narra-
tive is not a biography of Jesus; it relates nothing about His early
years, but begins with His baptism by John; illustrates His activities
first in Galilee and later in Jerusalem; and ends with His Cruci-
fixion. It doubtless once comprised an account of the Appearances of
the Risen Lord to His disciples; but it has suffered accidental
mutilation at the end. According to Patristic tradition, St. Mark
reproduced the instruction about our Lord which was given by
St. Peter. If this is so, it is clear that the Evangelist, for much
that is related by him, had access to a first-hand authority, since
St. Peter was one of three who were singled out by their Master
from among the Apostles for special privileges on more than one
occasion. That St. Mark was faithful in recording what he learnt
from St. Peter, and composed his Gospel with a sense of responsibility,
was the opinion of Papias (see p. 196) ; and the value of Papias' judg-
ment on this point can be appraised in some degree by consideration
of what the book contains and what it does not contain, when it is
compared with the subjects that mostly occupied the thoughts of
the early Christian communities.
St. Mark's Gospel includes features which met contemporary
wants in various ways. The framework of it consists of a brief
record of the most critical occasions in the Lord's ministry, from
its beginning to its close. It comprises the Baptist's prediction of
the coming of One greater than himself; the Baptism of Jesus by
John; the descent of the Spirit upon Him; His proclamation of the
nearness of the Dominion of God ; His Call cf the first Apostles ; His
despatch of the Twelve upon a mission ; His acknowledgment to
them that He was the Christ;1 His prediction of His impending
Death; the Transfiguration; the Entry into Jerusalem; His state-
ments about the events presaging the end of the Age; the institution
of the Eucharist; His Betrayal, Arrest, Crucifixion, and Resurrec-
tion. Into this scheme the writer inserted, first of all, numerous
instances of Jesus' wonderful Powers, especially His ability to heal
human infirmities; and since he implies that more cures of sick
people took place (i. 34; 3 10) than he has related in detail, it
would appear that he selected only a proportion out of a large num-
ber, his choice being determined by a wish to illustrate the variety
of wonders that Jesus wrought. In a few cases where he records
more than one instance of the same kind of miracle, it was doubt-
less because each was distinguished by special features. In the
second place, the Gospel describes certain occurrences which led up
1 In two passages prior to 8. 27-31 Jesus seems to use the term
" Son of man" of Himself — see 2. 10, 28; and to explain the
fact it has been suggested that St. Mark borrowed the section
2. i — 3. 6 from an earlier document framed on a different plan.
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 7
to the utterance, by Jesus, of sayings of great significance; and it
reproduces several of His allegories and parables. And thirdly, the
author narrates some discussions between Jesus and representatives
of various Jewish sects and classes — these narratives being aptly
designated " conflict stories." The most lengthy section of the
whole book is the last, which is occupied with an account of Jesus'
Passion and Death.
From this brief summary of the Second Gospel it will be seen
that its contents were calculated to satisfy not inadequately the
wants of the Early Church, as these have been sketched above. Thus,
to take only one or two points, the inclusion of the Baptist's pre-
diction of the advent of One superior to himself, the descent of the
Holy Spirit upon Jesus, His numerous cures of the afflicted, and
the other wonders wrought by Him, were adapted to persuade sur-
viving disciples of John that Jesus was really He of Whom the
Baptist had spoken (cf. Joh. 10. 41; Acts 18. 25; 19. 3, 4). An
account of the reply returned by Christ to a question concerning
the payment of taxation to the Romans was likely to be helpful in dis-
suading Christians from sympathizing with the Jewish antagonism
to Rome that culminated in armed rebellion. Examples of Jesus'
precepts and allegories would be prized by all who wished for in-
struction in such conduct as might secure for them entry into the
promised Dominion of God A report of what Jesus said about the
End of the Age would have the greatest interest for those whose
thoughts dwelt on that subject (cf. / Thess. 4. 13 f ; II Thess. 2.
if.;/ Cor. 15 ). The significance of the inclusion of these matters
in the Gospel is increased by the fact that the book says little or
nothing about certain other subjects in which the first Christian
communities were also interested, such silence favouring the infer-
ence that the Evangelist comprised in his narrative only those
reports about Jesus' acts and sayings for the truth of which he
believed himself to have adequate evidence. It may be suspected
that some anticipatory reference to the gift of the Spirit manifested
by the inspired Discourses and outbursts of Rapturous speech in the
Apostolic Church would have been included amongst Christ's reported
sayings, had there been any authority for thinking that He had
alluded to such ; but reference to these is found only in the non-genuine
Appendix (see 16. 17; and cf. Lk. 24. 49; Acts i. 8). One of the
questions which soon confronted the Church was the admissibility
of Gentiles into its ranks. All doubt about this would have been
removed at once, if there had been preserved any memories of a
Saying of Jesus during His lifetime, explicitly declaring that
Gentiles were to be comprehended within the Dominion of God
without submitting to circumcision. In such circumstances it would
not have been surprising if, for the decision which the Church's
leaders reached on the question (Acts 15. 20, 29), sanction had
been sought and found in some alleged words of Jesus, so that th«
intimation of His will, as expressed by the Holy Spirit (which, as
they believed, guided their counsels), could be unmistakably recog-
8 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
nized as agreeing with utterances proceeding from their Lord during
His earthly ministry. But as a matter of fact, there is no indication
in St. Mark's Gospel that any such utterance fell from Jesus' lips.
In it there is contained no saying of our Lord's implying that the
Gentiles were to have place in God's Dominion except the general
command that the Gospel must be preached to all nations, occurring
in 13. 10 (cf. 14. 9), or such a phrase as is found in Mk. 12. 9
(cf. Mt. 21. 43). This circumstance is all the more striking be-
cause St. Mark was a friend and companion of St. Paul, the Apostle
to the Gentiles, and the advocate of their freedom from the cere-
monial injunctions of the Jewish Law (cf. Mk. 7. i9b). And a
noteworthy proof of the care with which Jesus' own words were in
general reported by St. Mark is seen in 10. 18. If these had not been
transmitted to him by an authority which he could not disregard,
he would have been tempted to transform them, as the First Evan-
gelist has actually done (Mt. 19. 17). Similarly, he has refrained
from modifying Jesus' statement about divorce in 10. n, which by
the author of Mt. is qualified and restricted. Again, utterances
which the writer would have had a strong motive to omit, had they
not been fully authenticated, are contained in 13. 32 and 14. 34.
And he has likewise preserved certain words of our Lord's, addressed
to St. Peter (8. 32, 33; 14. 29-31), which he would have been inclined
to exclude, if he had not wished to reproduce faithfully what that
Apostle had related.
The fact, however, that the Second Gospel appears to deserve
confidence in respect of its scheme of contents has not prevented
suspicions from being entertained about the accuracy of its account
of Jesus' ministry as a whole The impression produced upon some
scholars is that it is a mere collection of detached episodes, arranged
without regard to the order in which they really succeeded one
another ; so that it does not furnish a reliable narrative of the real
sequence of events. One critic, whilst sharing, in general, this
opinion about the first half of the Gospel, concedes that it is
chronological from 8. 27 to the end. These views seem to do
some injustice to St. Mark's work. The succession of incidents
enumerated on p. 6 follows a natural course of development.
Accompanying, and in some degree influencing, these external inci-
dents there appears a change in the mind and outlook of Jesus Him-
self. At first, in spite of the conviction which He had come to
entertain that He was God's Messiah, He refrained for some while
from disclosing, or allowing others to disclose, the truth about Him
(i. 24, 25, 34; 3. 12; 8. 27-31). It was not until He foresaw
clearly the path marked out for Him by Divine Providence that He
admitted to His immediate followers Who He really was. The
narrative also shows a process of growth in the antagonism mani-
fested towards Jesus. It begins with complaints, uttered by the
ecclesiastical authorities of His nation, about His words and con-
duct (2. 6-7, 16, 18, 24) ; and these eventually issue in plans for
destroying Him (3. 2, 6; n. 18; 14. i). And not only does
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 9
opposition emanate from the Priesthood, but endeavours are made
even by His own relations to interfere with Him (3. 21, 31-32) ;
and finally His chosen Disciples abandon or repudiate Him (14.
50, 66-71). Accordingly, it appears probable that the Evangelist
derived from St. Peter not only accounts of separate occurrences
in our Lord's ministry, but also a general idea of the order in
which one incident followed another, and of the gradual way in
which Jesus came to realise the inevitable fate awaiting Him, so far
as His thoughts could be inferred by others from His utterances
and actions.
Nevertheless, the Gospel is incomplete in various ways The
writer, in connection with the period of which he treats, does not
make it his object to furnish chronological references to external
conditions and events, such as St. Luke supplies, though the fact that
both Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate figure in the narrative
provides certain limits of time within which the historical occur-
rences related can be inferred to have happened. That many
incidents in the ministry have been omitted is clear from- the absence
of any account of miracles wrought at Chorazm, to which reference
is made in Mt. n. 21 ( — Lk. 10. 13). Though the Second Evangelist
repeatedly speaks- of Jesus as teaching the multitude (2. 13; 4. i, 2;
6. 6; 10. i), yet the accounts of His teaching are comparatively
meagre, though this is explicable by the fact that a record of it was
contained in Q, a document with which St. Mark was probably
acquainted, and which he may have desired to supplement rather
than to supersede (see pp. 126, 196). But other defects must be
ascribed to the Evangelist's lack of the historian's instinct, or to
a want of literary expertness. In some cases the connection between
events is not traced ; whilst in other instances statements are left in
isolation, without the sequel which they seem to require. Thus no
explanation is given of the reason why Jesus crossed into Syro-
Phoenicia, or retired to Caesarea Philippi : it has to be conjectured.
The reference to Herod's identification of Jesus with John the
Baptist risen from the dead (6. 14, 16) might be expected to be
followed, but is not, by a description of some consequent state of
feeling or course of action on the part of that prince. That the
Evangelist was apt to be uncritical in dealing with some of the
materials at his disposal is suggested by the occurrence, in his
narrative, of two miracles of the feeding of a multitude of persons
with a few loaves and fishes; for these look like variant versions of
the same story, since the details are very similar, and there is no
indication, in the account of the miracle which is represented as the
later of the two, that the Apostles had witnessed a like wonder only
a short time before. If this is the case, it seems that St. Mark was
liable to take for distinct occurrences Divergent reports of the same
incident, one of them being presumably derived by him from St.
Peter, and the other reaching him through a different channel.
Here and elsewhere (e.g., 5. 13) no importance can be attached to
the figures : in ancient histories large numbers may generally be
10 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
regarded with grave suspicion, and those in the Gospels are doubt-
less as inexact as others.
The Evangelist, in his account of the Last Supper, seems to
have made a chronological mistake. Besides identifying erroneously
the day when the Passover lambs were slain (Nisan 14) with the first
day of the festival of " Cakes without \east " (Nisan 15, which began
in the evening of Nisan 14, according to our reckoning), he repre-
sents the Last Supper as being the Passover meal, which was held on
Nisan 14 (see 14 12-16). In this he is followed by the author of
the First Gospel (26. 17-19) and by St. Luke (22. 7-13). If such a
representation were correct, it would follow that the arrest and
crucifixion of oui Lord took place on an actual Festival. But this,
eminently improbable in itself, is contradicted by St. Mark's state-
ment in 14. i, 2 about the wish of Jesus' enemies to destroy Him
before the Festival, as well as by the fact that on the day of HJS
airest and death (which, according to Jewish reckoning, occurred
on the same day) one of His disciples was carrying a weapon, and
Joseph of Arimathea was able to buy a piece of linen (14. 47;
15. 46), neither proceeding being likely on so solemn an occasion
(though some Rabbinic scholars consider that theie was nothing in
Jewish religious usage preventing on a Festival the bearing of arms
for self-defence, or even for carrying out an execution). Moreover,
St. Luke m 22. 14-16 (a passage not derived from Mk.) appears
to imply that Jesus anticipated that He would be precluded, by the
success of His enemies' designs, from partaking of the Passover
that was approaching, whilst the Fourth Evangelist makes it clear
that in his view the Lord's death took place before the Passover
was eaten (/oh. 18. 28). With this agrees St. Paul's thought
that Christ Himself was the Christians' Paschal Lamb (/ Cor. 5. 7),
slain at the same time as the other lambs on Nisan 14. It is
probable, therefore, that the Last Supper was not really a celebra-
tion of the Passover feast on Nisan 14, but a meal on the previous
day, which Jesus shared with His disciples before He was parted
from them through the schemes of His enemies This conclusion is
supported by the facts that there is no mention of a Lamb, and
that the bread used was apparently an ordinary loaf, and not the
cakes made without yeast which accompanied the eating of the
Passover Lamb.
The purpose of the First and the Third Evangelist was pre-
sumably to improve upon the Gospel of St. Mark, which they con-
siderably augment. Their productions consist largely of extracts
from St. Mark's work; but these, often abbreviated, they have com-
bined with other material drawn from Q and from special sources
of which they were in possession, thereby supplying some of the
deficiencies of the Second Gospel. These Gospels, for what they
have in common with Mk.t are of secondary worth as authorities;
and in reproducing large sections of Mk. both of them sometimes
modify (as it would seem) the Second Gospel for the worse. For
instance, Mt. represents John the Baptist as recognizing Jesus
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 11
before the latter was baptized by him (Mi. 3. 14, 15), whereas the
silence of Mb. i. 9-11 about this is confirmed by Q (Mt. n. 2 f. =
Lk. 7. 18-23) ; whilst Lk. transposes the order of Jesus' missions to
Nazareth and Capernaum (Lk. 4. 16 f . ; 31 f., contrast Mk. i. 21 f . ;
6. i f.) They are, however, of the greatest value, inasmuch as
they preserve reports of many of our Lord's discourses which are not
found in Mk. In regard to the accounts of Jesus' life repeated
from the Second Gospel, though they both frequently follow Mk.'s
order very closely (cf. Lk. 18. 15-33; Mt- J9 T3 — 20- *9 with Mk
10- * 3-34)j vet at times both of them depart from it in some measure,
the First Evangelist doing so to the greater extent. Mt. omits a
few of St. Mark's narratives, and Lk. leaves out a large number
The First and Third Evangelists alike pass over the cures wrought
by Jesus upon a deaf and dumb man, and upon a blind man, both
being cases in which our Lord used saliva as a means of healing1
(Mk. 7. 32-37 ; 8. 22-26). A notable utterance of our Lord's which
is absent from both Mt. and Lk is that recorded in Mk. 2 27. On
the other hand, these two Gospels comprise several narratives not
found in Mk. or in Q, of which the most conspicuous are those
relating* to the Birth of Jesus from a Virgin Mother, a subject about
which something will be said below.
The First and Third Evangelists (as has been mentioned
already) have drawn not only upon Mk. but also upon Q, and
since that document has been lost, Mt. and Lk. are our only authori-
ties for its contents. Much of our Lord's instruction, as it has
been preserved in Q, is in the form of concise ethical maxims
marked by parallelism and hyperbole. The former may be illus-
trated by Mt. 5. 42; 6. IQ, 20; 7. 8 (see also 7. 6, from another
source) , and the latter by Lk. 14, 26 (expressed otherwise in
Mt. 10. 37). So extreme and unqualified are many of the require-
ments therein made upon men by Jesus that some critics have
concluded that they could only have been laid down by Him under
the belief that the end of the existing Age was at hand, and that
the conduct which He enjoined was adapted for the brief interim,
and for that alone. There is good reason, indeed, for supposing
that our Lord actually did anticipate that the Final Judgment was
near; and the expectation can scarcely have failed to colour His
thoughts and language. But account must also be taken of the
strongly rhetorical character of Hebrew and Aramaic aphorisms and
proverbial sayings, instances of which occur in Mk 10. 25; n. 23;
Mt. 10. 30 (cf. I Sam. 14 45); 17. 20 (cf. Zech. 4. 7); 23. 24;
Lk. 19. 40. Hyperbole is a method of expression which lends
incisiveness to the enunciation of truths, and imprints them the
more deeply on the memory of hearers and readers, being widely
employed by ethical and religious teachers in all ages and lands.
In view of this, such precepts as those contained in Mt. 5. 39-42
(-Lk. 6. 29, 30) may reasonably be regarded as designed to stimu-
1 Cf. Tac. Hi st. 4. 81.
12 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
late in men the suppression of vindictiveness and the development
of a spirit of service, and as doing this the more effectively through
the unconditional terms in which they are couched, and which are
calculated to arrest attention and to arouse reflection, but are not
intended to be carried out literally.1
The sections of the Third Gospel which (beside the narrative
relating to the Virgin Birth) have no parallel in the other Synoptists
and which may be symbolized by L, consist of a number of im-
pressive stories designed to exemplify principles of conduct com-
mended or reprobated (see p. 262). A peculiar feature about St.
Luke's account of the period when the instruction contained in
these sections was given is that he apparently regards it as delivered
by Jesus, during His journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, in Samaria
(9. 51 f.). But various details are quite inconsistent with the
supposition that everything which is related actually took place on
Samaritan soil; for there Jesus would be in no danger from Herod
Antipas (13. 31), He would not be likely to meet with Pharisees
(n. 37; 14. i), and the ordinary route would not take him through
Jericho (18 35). It appears, then, that St. Luke, or his authority,
careless of historical considerations, has here grouped together a
number of episodes and utterances, of some of which the real scene
was either Galilee or Jerusalem (where the denunciation of the
Pharisees and theologians in n. 42, 46-52 is placed by Mt.).
Among the incidents of our Lord's ministry which are found
only in the Third Gospel, and which may be noticed here, are the
restoration to life of the widow's son at Nam, the mission of the
Seventy, and Pilate's sending of Jesus (in the course of His trial)
to Herod Antipas. About the historical value of the account of the
miracle at Nam something will be said below (p 23). Suspicion
inevitably attaches to the account of the despatch, by Jesus, of a
second and larger body of missioners (in addition to the Twelve),
in view of the fact that one field of their activities is represented
as Samaria ; and their number — seventy — seems to be symbolical of
the Gentile world (since there is some reason to think that this
figure was believed to comprise all the nations of the earth). Tn
Mt. 10. 5 Jesus is related to have expressly forbidden the Twelve
to go to the Samaritans ; and St. Paul seems to imply that His
mission was confined to His cucumcised countrymen (Rom. 15. 8).
On the other hand, it is possible that, in consequence of the opposi-
tion which He encountered from the leaders of His own people,
He may, at the date in question, have silently rescinded the earlier
prohibition The third of the incidents mentioned above becomes
more credible if St. Luke's statement that Jesus was sent by Pilate
to Herod because, as a Gahlaean, He came from Herod's sphere of
authority, does not mean that Herod had the right to try Him at
Jerusalem (which was not the case), but only that, since Jesus had
1 Later reflection seems to have considered Jesus' real thoughts
about divorce to be better expressed by what is stated in Mt.
5. 32; 19. 9, than in Mk. 9. n.
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 13
been resident in Herod's dominion, Pilate hoped to obtain some
information about Him from that ruler, since, if Jesus had been
fomenting sedition against the Emperor by making kingly claims
for Himself, such seditious proceedings must have taken place in
Galilee.
The First Gospel, besides adding to the principal contents of
Mk. the story of the Virgin Birth (told fiom another standpoint
than Lk.'s), many precepts, and a number of allegories and parables
not found elsewhere (the sections comprising these being conveniently
denoted by the symbol M), also includes an utterance of our Lord's,
investing St. Peter by name with legislative and administrative
authority in the Church. The reference to the Church, in view of
Jesus' expectation of the nearness of the Judgment, is strange; and
if, during His earthly life, He had really assigned to St. Peter any
predominance in it, all dispute among the Apostles about precedence,
such as is recorded in 18. i (cf. Mk. 9. 34), would have been pre-
cluded. The utterance seems to have originated within a section of
the early Church which was desirous of extending St. Peter's in-
fluence in the Christian community, and believed such extension to
be in accord with Christ's will (cf. p. 329).
It was St. Peter whom Jesus (in a narrative occurring only in
Mt.) is represented as directing to procure the sum needed
for the Temple dues by casting a hook into the sea, and as
assuring him that he would find the required coin m the mouth of
the first fish that he caught (see further, p. 25). Certain wonders
accompanying the death of Jesus are also reported by the First
Evangelist exclusively, that event being described as producing effects
both in nature and in the world of the dead (Mt. 27. 5ib-53).
The Fourth Gospel is unlike the other three in both form and
substance. In structure it is not composed of a series of short narra-
tives, interspersed with aphorisms and similitudes, but largely con-
sists of protracted arguments between Jesus and His opponents, or
of long discourses addressed by Jesus to His disciples. In regard
to the historical contents a detailed comparison between it and the
Synoptic Gospels is drawn on p. 478. The five most conspicuous
differences are these. In Joh., as contrasted with the Synoptists,
(a) Jesus' ministry lasts about three years; (b) the principal scene
of the ministry is Jerusalem, not Galilee; (c) His Messiahship is
recognized by others, and is explicitly disclosed by Himself, quite
early in the course of His ministry; (d) His miracles are regarded
as designed to manifest His divine glory rather than as evidencing
His compassion for human suffering ; (e) there are absent several
of the most striking episodes recounted by the Synoptists In regard
to the first of these differences, though the longer ministry described
in the Johannine Gospel is not inherently impiobable, yet the account
of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem shortly before the Passover
renders it more likely that it was the first occasion of a visit to the
Jewish capital during His ministry than that it was the last of
several. That the ministry began in Galilee and was mainly con-
14 ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS
fined to that district is probable in view of the fact that His home
was there, and that the character of the population offered more
favourable conditions for the initiation of a new religious movement
than Judasa. In Joh. St. Peter is represented as having come in
contact with Jesus first in Juda-a, and there to have received from
Him the name Kephas; but it is strange that, if this incident really
occurred in the region mentioned, it should find no place in Mk.,
which is based on St. Peter's reminiscences. In Mt. the name
Kephas is bestowed on St. Peter late in the Gahlaean ministry. In
the Synoptists the method of instruction pursued by Jesus at the
outset of His ministry consists in allowing His words and actions
to create upon those who heard and witnessed them their own im-
pression about the truth of His Message and the nature of His
Personality ; and this seems more natural than that which He is
represented as following in Joh. And, finally, if the Johannine
account of His miracles and His manner of teaching were the more
trustworthy, it is not likely that one so dissimilar as that contained
in the Synoptic Gospels would have come into existence; whereas
if the Synoptic account is the more reliable, the faith of the Church
that Jesus was the Son of God might readily lead, at a later period,
to a re-construction of that account In place of the) earlier tradition
that it was not until shortly before His death that He avowed
Himself to be the Christ, and that in the course of His ministry He
sometimes manifested ignorance, and sometimes was not able to do
all that He desired, there might easily be substituted by a later
writer an account more in accordance with antecedent ideas of what
the divine Son of God was likely to have said and taught and
done. Of this tendency there are traces in Mt. as compared with
Mk. ; and Joh. appears to carry it to greater lengths. Though the
Fourth Evangelist in some instances may be more exact than the
rest (e.g., in the date of the Last Supper and of the Crucifixion),
yet, on the whole, it seems probable that he was concerned less with
recording accurately and comprehensively the incidents of Jesus' Life
than with accentuating the significance of His Person; and that his
work has for history less value than it has for the confirmation of
religious convictions.
For knowledge respecting the early history of the Christian
Church two sources of information are available — St. Paul's cor-
respondence and the book of Acts, which is probably the production
of St. Luke (p. 387). For some events, especially those in which
St. Paul himself took part, the allusions in the Apostle's Letters
are of first-rate value; and by them many statements in Acts can
be checked, and some of them qualified or corrected. But such
historical allusions are comparatively few; and for accounts of the
growth and expansion of the Christian community dependence has
to be placed chiefly on St. Luke's second volume. The worth of
this naturally vanes with the quality of the historical materials at
his disposal, and some account of these will be attempted later
(P 389)- Acts, like Lk.t contains a number of references to con-
ORIGIN OF THE GOSPELS 15
temporary circumstances or occasions which throw light upon the
date of many of the events related. But the accuracy which marks
certain of the statements in the second half of the book (from 16. n
onward), where the author could draw upon his own observation,
does not guarantee the trustworthiness of everything contained in
his earlier chapters, where he had to rely upon the reports of others.
The fact that he was a careful observer in connection with circum-
stances falling under his own notice (as shown by the correctness
with which he designates certain officials in Macedonia and else-
where (see 16. 20; 17. 6; 18. 12; 28. 7)) does not prove him to have
had the competent historian's capacity for sifting the materials for
a history of the earliest days of the Church, and compiling from
them a trustworthy narrative. Thus it is difficult to repose con-
fidence in the account of the council of Jerusalem, related in Acts
15, when it is compared with the allusions in Gal. 2, if both writers
have the same occasion in mind;1 and the description in Acts of
the ecstatic utterances which broke from the disciples at Pentecost
produces quite a different impression from that derived from St.
Paul's references to similar outbursts of rapturous speech in / Cor.
14. Some scholars have suspected, from the general resemblance
between the accounts, in Acts 4. 1-31 and 5 12-42, of certain efforts
that were made by the Jewish authorities to suppress the Apostles1
preaching, that these successive narratives reproduce parallel but
variant traditions of one and the same incident. Still, whatever
imperfections exist in the first half of the work, its value improves,
for the most part, as it proceeds; for its author was present at
several of the scenes and occurrences described in the second half
of the book; and about many matters, of which he had no personal
knowledge, he was in a position to obtain information from St. Paul,
whom he accompanied to Rome. And apart from St. Paul's Letters
written in captivity (Col , Eph., Phil.), it furnishes virtually all that
we can ascertain about the concluding years of the Apostle's life.
In explanation of some of the defects of the Gospels and Acts as
histories, when judged by modern standards, certain considerations
have to be taken into account. The only one of their writers who
seems to have possessed real literary skill was St. Luke ; and he, in
relating afresh the ministry of Jesus, of which he, like the other Evan-
gelists, had no first-hand knowledge, must have felt bound to follow
closely the sources of information at his disposal. One of these, the
Gospel of St. Mark, is obviously constructed with little art; but
even if, as some critics contend, it is not much more than a
collection of episodes, yet these are arranged by the author in a
sequence which probably does not depart widely from the real
chronological order (p. 195), though the historical succession is in-
terrupted by the introduction of illustrations of Jesus' method of
teaching. The document embodied in the Third Gospel and
1 St. Luke was not present, and in such ciicumstances he probably
put into the lips of the speakers such speeches as he deemed
appropriate (p. 16).
16 MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS
designated Proto-Luke (pp. 259-60) appears less complete ; and, as re-
gards the locality where certain of Jesus5 discourses, preserved in
it alone, are represented as having been delivered, it seems not very
accurate (p. 12). In the case of all the Evangelists it is reasonable
to think that their interest was not primarily historical but practical :
they were chiefly concerned to meet the needs of a religious com-
munity and to strengthen their faith in Jesus as the Son of God
(cf. Mk. i. i; ]oh. 20. 31). All historical writers, in an age when
records of the past were preserved on rolls of parchment or papyrus,
must have had much difficulty in verifying references, and must
have been led to trust to faulty memories, so that errors, such as
St. Mark's calling the priest Ahimelech or Abimelech by the name
of Abiathar (Mk. 2. 26), and Herod, the half-brother of Herod
Antipas, by the name of Philip (Mk. 6. 17), are easily accounted for.1
On the other hand, the terse and aphoristic character of so many
of our Lord's Utterances, characterized as they are by Semitic
parallelism and balanced structure, were likely to remain long in
their hearers' memories; whilst the allegories with which He illus-
trated the ethical and religious principles which He desired to
enforce, would, in their substance at least, be retained in the mind
just as easily. In regard, however, to the speeches of St. Peter and
St. Paul in the early half of Acts, it is not likely that they do more
than reproduce broadly the general tenor of what was actually
said. There were no reporters, and the wording must be the his-
tonan's own. In the case of St. Paul, the writer of Acts would have
the advantage of being acquainted with the lines of argument used
by the Apostle to different audiences, and so could construct speeches
which were suitable to occasions of which he possessed no detailed
accounts. In thus putting into the mouth of various speakers
addresses for which no authoritative records were available, St.
Luke would only be adopting a practice followed by some other
ancient historians, as may be seen from the admission made by
Thucydides in a familiar passage (i. 22).
(2) THE MIRACLES IN THE N.T.
From considerations bearing upon the historical study of the
N.T., it is impossible to exclude some reference to the miracles
recorded as having been wrought by our Lord and His Apostles.
There is no doubt that the Evangelists believed in the reality of
the miracles related : what modern readers of their reports desire
to ascertain (so far as probable conclusions can be reached) is the
actual nature of the facts behind the reports. The evidence furnished
is extensive, but it cannot be properly appraised without account
being taken of certain pre-suppositions in the minds of the narrators.
The question whether all or any of the extraordinary occurrences
described are miracles in the sense of being due not to natural but
1 For some chronological mistakes probably committed by St. Luke,
see p. 263.
MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS 17
to supernatural causes depends for its decision upon the validity of
certain assumptions— first of all, those with which both the original
spectators observed the circumstances and the N.T. writers preserved
their evidence; and next, those with which we ourselves approach
their testimony. The accounts of various wonderful occurrences con-
tained in the N.T. are interpretations of what was witnessed, either
by the writers, or by those whose evidence they reported : the
narratives represent not what actually took place but what the
observers judged to have taken place. Factors determining such
interpretations would be (a) the extent to which the observers, or the
persons to whom they related what they had seen, were acquainted
with the processes of nature, with the influence which the human
mind can exert over the human body, and with the control which
some minds can exercise over other minds, independently of speech
or writing : (b) the convictions entertained about God and His
relation to the world : (c) the beliefs held concerning Jesus Christ
and the truth of His claim to be the Bearer of a supreme revelation
from God, and the presumptions raised by these beliefs. We
ourselves similarly, in perusing the N.T. narratives and seeking to
draw from them our own inferences about the value of the inter-
pretations put by the writers upon the incidents mentioned in them,
bring to the consideration of them our own pre-suppositions, based
on our own experiences and the scientific investigations of the
last two or three centuries. Between the views of Hebrew or
Hellenistic Jews, living nineteen hundred years ago, and the views
of ourselves about Nature and about God there is bound to be a
wide difference; and if we were witnesses of many of the scenes
described in the Gospels and in Acts, there could scarcely fail to be
a divergence between the explanations which would be given now
and those which were given then. And since our mental attitude
towards strange occurrences falling under our own observation would
often be unlike that of observers of similar occurrences in Apostolic
times, we cannot but read the reports concerning wonders reaching
us from those times with some doubt in many cases about their
correctness. We have become more alive than were earlier genera-
tions to the love of the marvellous inherent in human nature (causing
it to see the praeternatural in anything that is not at once under-
stood) and to the general tendency of stones of wonder to become
exaggerated in the course of transmission ; and we allow for them.
Moreover, in connection with such documents as the Gospels and
Acts the fact has to be kept in mind that it was the practice of
Hebrew writers frequently to use in their descriptions of incidents
an element of poetic imagery to which Western minds are less
inclined. The expression of religious and spiritual experiences and
convictions by means of concrete symbolism appealing to the senses
was so characteristic of Jewish mentality that much in the original
accounts lying behind several of the narratives in the Gospels was
probably never intended by those responsible for them to be taken
at its surface value, but merely designed to convey impressively
18 MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS
what amongst ourselves would be represented in abstract terms.1
Such symbolism, however, is liable to be misunderstood by more
prosaic minds; and in assessing the historic value of some stones
of miracles, it is reasonable to suspect that they may owe their
present form to the replacement of poetry by prose.
In connection with the miracles related in the N.T. it is ex-
pedient to treat separately those wrought (a) on inanimate nature,
(t>) on humanity. If it is sought to estimate the value of the con-
structions put by the Evangelists, or their informants, upon the facts
behind the nature-miracles (which are comparatively few in num-
ber), it cannot be supposed that the witnesses of the occunences
were wholly ignorant of the presence in nature of some established
order. Even in the age in which the books of the N.T. originated
people could not fail to realize that certain results usually attended
certain preceding conditions and occurrences : they must, for in-
stance, have noticed that upon rain and sunshine in definite propor-
tions there ensued bountiful harvests ; that upon particular physical
injuries, occasioned to living creatures, there followed death ; and so
on. But they cannot have had the same firm belief as ourselves that
there prevails in the events of the physical world at large a regular
sequence of associated antecedents and consequents; that, in fine,
amid the variety of phenomena there can be detected a uniformity
in the way in which one occurrence or state succeeds another
And not only are we far better acquainted with the extent to which
regularity marks the operations of nature, but we also recognize
that such regularity in natural processes is an essential condition
of the development of the mental capacities inherent in beings who,
like ourselves, are endowed with reason; for these capacities can
only be trained by being exercised through efforts to comprehend a
world which is intelligible. We are, indeed, fully aware that we
are still very ignorant of a vast number of the secrets of the Universe.
But if in any field of knowledge we meet with experiences that are
inconsistent with the explanation by which they have been previously
accounted for, we do not at once ascribe them to supernatural
agency, but assume that they are the result of some factor or factors
in nature hitherto overlooked or unsuspected. This, however, was
far from being the mental attitude characteristic of the N.T. writers.
Their knowledge of the uniformities observable in natural events
(the same antecedents being, as a rule, followed by the same con-
sequents) was not sufficient to suggest to them, as our larger know-
ledge suggests to us, that an unusual occurrence, like other
1 Of the way in which a Hebrew writer could objectify a purely
mental or spiritual process, such as the- apprehension, by the
human mind, of a fresh revelation of Divine truth a striking
example occurs in Ezek. 2. 8-10. Instances of Symbolism in the
Gospels are the Dove at the Baptism; the Voice from Heaven
at the Baptism and the Transfiguration ; the Cloud at the latter,
and at the Ascension; and the graphic details of the Tempta-
tion. The book of The Revelation is full of symbols.
MIRACLES IN THK GOSPELS 19
occurrences more familiar, was to be explained by natural conditions,
even though these were unknown. Instead, they sought an explana-
tion in religion; and believing confidently, as they did, in a God
Who had not only created the world by His fiat but was also con-
stantly active in it, they commonly accounted for anything extra-
ordinary by attributing it to the direct intervention of the Deity, or,
mediately, to the will of some personality who was in a special
degree His representative or agent. If, indeed, they were pre-
judiced against a person who claimed to be empowered by God to
work wonders, the power which he exercised might be ascribed to
an evil spirit as its source (Mk. 3. 22) ; but in any case there was
no inclination to seek a " scientific " explanation of marvels by
referring them to the operation of some known, but perhaps obscure,
physical factor, or by postulating one hitherto undiscovered.
Modern readers of the N.T., in bringing, to the study of it their
own presuppositions, are not, of course, unanimous in regard to
those presuppositions. Obviously by thinkers who deny the exist-
ence of God, or avow themselves ignorant whether He exists or not,
and consider that nature works purely mechanically, the interpreta-
tions put by the writers of the N.T. upon the marvels which they
recount are at once rejected ; and the occurrences recorded (so far
as it is considered that some unusual facts really underlie the
narratives in general) are explained quite differently, or else the
stories are regarded as wholly the creations of fancy. Nor can
thinkers who resemble the Deists, and acknowledge that the Universe
has been created by God, but hold that everything happening in it
follows from invariable laws, imposed upon it from the first by the
Creator, admit the reality of alleged miracles in the sense of events
which cannot be accounted for by the operation of such laws But
those who are Theists, and believe alike in the Divine Immanence
and in the Divine Transcendence, can reasonably entertain the con-
viction that God's volition was not manifested merely in the act of
creation countless ages ago, but is also present now in the continuous
processes of nature, which are the expression of His ever-active will
(cf. /oh. 5. 17). They would consider that the uniformities marking
such processes are better described as generalizations than as " laws,"
such " laws " being only summary records of experiences of the past,
extensive, indeed, but still only partial, and any expectations of their
repetition m the future being never more than probable They
would add that the emergence, in a purely physical world, of the
earliest forms of animal life, and the emergence, in the history of
the animate creation, of the rudiments of mind, are obstacles in
the way of an exclusively mechanical explanation of all phenomena.
They would regard the introduction, first, of living, and, next, of
reasoning, organisms into a Universe previously devoid of life and
reason as successive creative acts, causing a breach in the orderly
sequence of merely physical forces, and involving the subordination
of the. latter, in some measure, to physiological and mental processes.
And persons who, besides being Theists, believe that in Jesus Christ
22 MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS
apparent exceptions to His acting by rule and system are not real
exceptions. It may be contended that abrupt departures from such
regular processes would leave the resultant effects unrelated to their
" context " in existing physical nature, and so would interfere with
the scientific understanding of the material world as a rational system.
And in respect of the nature-miracles ascribed to our Lord, though
it is true that human volition is a real factor in mundane operations,
yet its range is very circumscribed ; and though we believe that
Jesus was Divine as well as human, and possessed certain powers
exceeding the limits of ordinary mankind, yet it is difficult to think
that, in relation to the material world at large, He diew upon the
resources of Godhead whilst sharing the bodily needs, weaknesses,
and liability to suffering, characteristic of humanity. It seems
clear, at any rate, that the conditions of the Incarnation included,
among other human infirmities, certain restrictions of knowledge
(Mk. 5. 30; 6. 38; 9. 21) ; and there is a lack of coherence in the
supposition that, though He was not omniscient, He was nevertheless
omnipotent. It has been aptly said that He was not so much God
and man as God in man — God manifested under human limitations.
In regard to the disclosure of the Divine nature made in Him we are
less prone than were His contemporaries to expect a Divine revelation
to be necessarily accompanied by stupendous acts contravening the
ordinary sequence of physical causes and effects ; and are inclined
to look for proof of such a revelation in the sphere of the spirit only.
Indeed, it may be argued that, if Jesus was to be a Pattern of sub-
rnissiveness to the will of God on the plane of human life (Ph. 2. 8 ;
Heb. 5. 8), the value of His example would be impaired through His
having at His disposal supernatural reserves of power, even though
He did not turn them to account for His own advantage. Many are
consequently disposed to see in the reports of the " nature " miracles
in the N.T. interpretations of " natural " incidents coloured by the
belief, prevalent in the Apostolic Age, that any exceptional mani-
festation of Godhead could not fail to be attended by the working
of physical wonders.1 Records of miracles of this kind are not
associated with the Christian revelation exclusively ; and though
the evidence for such which is furnished by the N.T documents in
general is superior to that which is derived from other quarters,
yet the quality of the N.T. evidence does not preclude the possi-
bility, or even the probability, of there being an imaginative element
in them, arising from current ideas about God and about the
Universe, and fostered by the existence of numerous wonder-stones
in the O.T.
These considerations will appeal differently to different minds.
Though the evidence for the miracles represented as wrought by
Jesus on inanimate objects comes from the same source as that for
the miracles recorded as performed in relief of human sufferers, yet
1 In the narrative of the Temptation our Lord is represented as re-
jecting the suggestion that His Divine Sonship was to be
proved by ability to wo~k physical miracles.
MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS 23
to certain thinkers the former class will appear less credible than
the latter, because some of the former (such as the Withering of the
Fig Tree, and the Walking upon the Water) seem to be more thau-
maturgic in aspect, and less beneficent in result, than the latter ; and
because for the latter greater analogy is forthcoming from our own
experiences (whatever value, in connection with such a subject, may
be reasonably attached to this). Those who find a difficulty in
reposing confidence in the narratives of the nature-miracles as they
stand will be inclined to regard them as originating in some real
occurrences, witnessed or reported, which were interpreted as, or
transformed into, wonders of an astounding kind in consequence of
the prevailing beliefs of the Age. Some suggestions as to the
character of the facts possibly lying behind these narratives are
appended.
(a) The daughter of Jairus and the son of the widow at Nam,1
whom Jesus is represented as having restored from death to life
may have been in a state of suspended animation, their leal con-
dition being detected by our Lord (just as St. Paul at Troas percened
that in Eutychus, after his fall, life was not extinct, Acts 20. 10) ;
in the instance of the young girl, Jesus' own words (Mk. 5. 39)
suggest that death had not actually occurred.2 (b) The narrative
that relates how Jesus stilled a storm on the Lake of Galilee may
have originated from a misapprehension of His meaning when He
asked His terrified disciples, " Have you not yet faith?" The faith
which He missed in those who appealed to Him in their fear was
probably faith in God ; but the development of a later belief that
He meant faith in Himself would easily lead to words being ascribed
to Him implying that by His own command He reduced the raging
waters to a state of calm. A conviction that He was able to work
such miracles as the three just considered would be fortified by the
circumstance that in the O T. the restoration of dead persons to
life is attributed to both Elijah and Ehsha (/ Kg. 17. 17-22; // Kg.
4. 18-37); whilst control over the elements is represented as exercised
both by these prophets and by Moses (// Kg. 2. 8, 14; Ex. 14 21).
Since such marvels were recorded of ancient prophets, it would have
been surprising if, in course of time, wonders equally great did not
become associated with Jesus, when once He had been widely recog-
nized to be the expected Christ (cf Joh. 7. 31). (c) The story of the
feeding of a multitude with a few loaves and fishes may have arisen
from a figure of speech. Metaphors are specially liable to be mis-
construed; and if our Lord, when addressing a great crowd that
had gathered to hear Him, had referred to His Teaching under the
figure of Spiritual Food (cf. Joh. 6. 26-59 and see also 4. 10, 14), whilst
bidding His disciples share with the hungry among them such
material provisions as they had, and thereby inducing others, who
carried food with them, to be liberal to those who lacked, His use of
1 Speedy removal for burial would be natuial in a hot climate.
2 St. Luke, on the other hand, has no doubt that she was dead
(8- 53)-
24 MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS
some phrase, implying that the Spiritual Food which He offered
them would satisfy all, and the thoughtfulness which He showed for
their physical needs, might together give rise to the representation
that He had fed some thousands of hungry people on the scanty
supply of bread and fish in the possession of the disciples. The
growth of a miracle story, such as this, would be furthered by the
existence, in the O.T., of a record that a small quantity of loaves
had, on one occasion, been multiplied by a prophet into a meal
sufficient for a hundred people (// Kg. 4. 42-44; cf. I Kg. 17. 11-16).
(d) Another miracle narrative which may also have arisen from the
transformation of a metaphor into a matter-of-fact occurrence is the
Cursing of the Barren Fig Tree, the story being the materialization
either of a parable (like that in Lk 13. 6-9), intended as a warning
to those Jews whose professions were contradicted by their practice,
or else of some hyperbolic phrase, expressing vividly the potency of
fervent prayer (such as occurs in Lk. 17. 6). (e) The account of our
Lord's Walking on the Sea may be due to a mistaken impression
formed by His disciples about a non-miraculous incident — an im-
pression which, if corrected by Him in later converse with them,
reached others without the correction. An explanation of what may
really have happened is hinted at by the experience of a traveller
in Palestine, who writes thus of an attempt which he made on one
occasion to cross from the western to the eastern side of the Lake
of Gennesaret : — " As I was wondering whether to risk the depth of
the water farther out (for it seemed very shallow for a long way
from the shore) and cross at right angles, a caravan of five camels,
with two Bedouin drivers, came up behind me, and, to my surprise,
walked straight into the sea. I stripped . . . and turned in behind
the last camel It was a weird experience. The wind had risen
suddenly, and the surface of the lake was covered with angry waves.
... At one point of this strange journey we were certainly over a mile
from any point on the shore. Here I was, then, calmly walking
on the sea, for the water was at no place higher than my knees,
and at some places no higher than my ankles. We were crossing
on a hidden sand-bank that stretches at this point from shore to
shore."1 The appended narrative in Mt. 14. 28-31, relating how
St. Peter essayed to join his Master in walking on the water, but
how his courage failed him is absent from Mk., though the Second
Gospel is based on Peter's memories of the Lord. The narrative,
in origin, may be a didactic story, designed to enforce by vivid
symbolism the necessity of sustained faith in traversing the troubled
waters of life. If this is the explanation, it may well be that some
other incidents in the Gospels are merely the dramatic expression
of certain religious ideas.
The suggestions here thrown out are offered for the considera-
tion of those who approach the records of the Gospel " nature
miracles " with the antecedent presumption that it is less likely
1 H. S. McClelland, in the Quiver, Aug., 1922, p. 906.
MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS 25
that such abnormal incidents as are described or implied by the
Evangelists really happened than that there was some error in the
accounts communicated by the original witnesses, or that some cor-
ruption of those accounts occurred in the process of transmission.
The suggestions offered are, of course, no more than conjectures
about the kind of circumstances which may have given rise to some
of the narratives. Of two miracles recorded in the Fouith Gospel,
one, the conversion of water into wine, merely to provide enjoyment
at a wedding feast, seems to have, in the occasion described, an
inadequate motive, unless sympathy with the givers of the feast in
their embarrassment can be viewed as such. The other, the raising
of Lazarus to life, after he had been buried for three days, is, though
so remarkable a miracle, absent from the earlier Gospels, although
St. Peter, who was St. Mark's authority, must have been acquainted
with it, if it really happened. A most surprising feature in the
account is that Jesus is represented as purposely delaying to go to
His sick friend — seemingly in order to have the opportunity of
affording an amazing proof of supernatural power. The story was
perhaps the product of pious imagination, enhancing the control
over the dead ascribed to Jesus in Mk. and Lk.t and incorporated
by the Evangelist in order to enforce a great spiritual truth (see
ii. 25, 26).
The fact that in the Gospels the miracles attributed to our Lord
are never wrought for His own exclusive benefit, or for the pur-
pose of self-defence, or retaliation, distinguishes them conspicuously
from many of those narrated in the Apocryphal Gospels. One of
these Gospels,1 for instance, relates how Jesus, when five years old,
moulded for amusement clay birds and made them fly by clapping
His hands; and how, when a child knocked, or threw a stone,
against His shoulder, He said to him, " You shall not finish your
course," and how, in consequence, the child fell dead. The only
miracle of His in the N.T. which serves in any way to meet His own
needs is the direction given to St. Peter, informing him how to
obtain the money needed for the Temple dues (see p. 359). If there is
any foundation for the tradition, Jesus' words to the Apostle may
have meant that the first fish taken would, if sold, produce the sum
demanded.
On the other hand, whatever conclusions may be reached by
different thinkers about the nature-miracles, it is impossible to ques-
tion that there is a nucleus of solid fact in the narratives relating
the cure by Jesus of numerous cases of human suffering. In regard
to His power to heal (which He ascribed to the Spirit of God in
Him, Mt. 12. 28), His restoration to health of demon-ridden persons
(as the victims of all mental disorders and of some physical maladies
were then held to be) had a paiallel in the exorcising practised by
some of His contemporaries (Mt. 12. 27 = Lk. n. 19). Analogies to
1 " The Gospel of Thomas " : see The Apocryphal New Testament,
by M. R. James, pp. 50, 55.
26 MIRACLES IN THE GOSPELS
His healing of various diseases by spiritual means are afforded by
numerous instances of psycho-therapy at the present day. The in-
fluence of the psychical side of man in the relief of his physical ills
is being increasingly recognized ; and the effect of auto-suggestion is
greatly heightened, if the sufferer has confidence in a curative gift
possessed, or claimed, by another person. And the belief which
Jesus Himself entertained about His ability to heal had generally
to be met by belief in that ability on the part of the patient; in
several narratives the faith of the person relieved is specially em-
phasized as conditioning the relief experienced (Mk 5. 34; 9. 23;
10. 52) ; and Jesus' failure to work many cures in a certain locality
is ascribed by the Evangelist to the lack of faith displayed by
people there (Mk. 6. 1-6) The presence of the necessary faith in
individuals may have been discovered by Him through a faculty of
thought-reading ; and His acts, on such occasions as those related in
Mk. i. 31, 8. 23, were calculated to strengthen it. HJS healing power,
indeed, must have greatly exceeded that of ordinary faith-healers in
proportion as the confidence which He elicited was far in excess of
that which others have been able to evoke. Nevertheless, in regard to
physical cures wrought through the agency of faith many authorities
draw a distinction between functional and organic disease, and hold
that, whilst the former can yield to psychic influences, the latter does
not. Some authorities, however, consider that this differentiation has
no leal basis, and believe that faith can produce an effect alike upon
bodily activities and upon bodily structures: and that organic in-
juries as well as functional disorders can be healed through spiritual
agencies. Into such a conflict of opinion one who is not a medical
expert must refrain from intruding, though it is perhaps per-
missible to say that the restoration, by a touch, of a severed ear
(Lk. 22. 51) seems less credible than the renewal, by a word, of
strength and movement in crippled limbs At any rate, it may be
suspected that, in some of the N T. narratives of healing, the sub-
stantial truth of which there is no sufficient reason to doubt, there
has been some rhetorical heightening when a complete cure is repre-
sented as taking place at once. The stones relating the expulsion
of " demons " from various sufferers are recounted from the stand-
point of contemporary belief, which (as has been said) ascribed most
cases of mental, and some cases of physical, disease to demonic
influences. In the instance of the man who had the " regiment " of
demons (Mk. 5 ) it is not necessary to adopt the Evangelists' view
that the rush of the swine into the sea was occasioned by the demons
excelled from the man : it can be reasonably accounted for by
the terror created by the violent movements and shouts of the lunatic,
just before he became calm. Where miracles of healing were
wrought at a distance, faith could be inspired in the sufferers by
those who sought Jesus' aid for them, and who reproduced the
leplies which He returned to their appeals.
The Virgin Conception of Jesus and His Resurrection call for
THE VIRGIN BIRTH 27
somewhat fuller consideration, and the evidence for each will be
examined in succession.
Narratives relating that Jesus was born of a Virgin mother are
found only in the opening chapters of Mt. and Lk. These differ
in the standpoint from which the circumstances are described, the
principal figure in the former's account being Joseph, and in the
latter's, Mary. Both Evangelists agree in representing Jesus as
being born in Bethlehem, and Joseph as being of Davidic descent
(though his origin from David is traced by each through a different
line). But whereas Mt. seems to imply that Joseph and Mary
were resident in Judaea prior to the birth of Mary's Child, and
would have returned thither after the flight to Egypt, had not fear
of Prince Archelaus caused them to withdraw for safety to Nazareth
(2. 22, 23), Lk. describes Nazareth as their home, and their pre-
sence for a brief while at Bethlehem as due to their having gone
thither for registration. Both narratives (in which angels play a
conspicuous part) exhibit the poetic and dramatic imagery char-
acteristic of Hebrew writing, or writing inspired by Hebrew models;
and the account of the First Evangelist (which is silent about the
cradling of the Infant Jesus in a manger) appears, in the episode of
the homage rendered by the Eastern astrologers to the Child, and
of Herod's attempt to kill Him, to reflect by anticipation such later
events as the adhesion of many of the Gentiles to the Christian faith,
and the hostility manifested by the world's ruling powers to the
Christ and His followers. But the poetic atmosphere in which the
stories move does not necessarily destroy the credibility of the fact
which they are intended to affirm. The nature of that fact was
calculated to prevent it from being known to more than a narrow
circle, so that it has been urged that it cannot be surprising that
it receives no mention in the Pauline Epistles, and does not appear
in the earliest of the Gospels. And to many minds such a Conception
and Birth will seem to be peculiarly congruous with the entrance
into this world of One Who was in a unique degree both Divine
and human. It will be thought that so exceptional a Personality
must have been born in an exceptional way, and that the accounts pre-
served in Mt. and Lk.f in the light of such considerations, are in
substance worthy of confidence. It can be contended that the Virgin
Birth is narrated not only in the First Gospel but also in the Third ;
and that this Gospel (unlike the one bearing the name of St.
Matthew, which is really of unknown authorship) is the production
of one whose opportunities of getting information were considerable,
and who Seems to have been acquainted with a group of women to
whom Mary was not unlikely to entrust the secret of her Son's
conception. On the other hand, it may be replied that the appro-
priateness which so many find in the story of how the Son of God
became incarnate may have led to the creation of it ; and that it is
less likely to be based on historic testimony than to represent a
conclusion reached through religious reflexion. In the Letters of
St. Paul Jesus is described as both Son of God and Son of David;
28 THE VIRGIN BIRTH
yet there is no explanation of how the Divine and the human were
united in Him. If the Apostle knew of the miraculous Conception,
he might have been expected to refer to it in / Cor. 15. 3;1 whereas
it was by the Resurrection only that he regarded Jesus as having
been designated Son of God (Rom. i. 4). In the Gospel of St.
Mark nothing is said about Jesus having been born miraculously,
though it may be pleaded that the absence of any mention of the
Virgin Birth is due to the writer's purpose of recording only
matters that came under the notice of St. Peter and the other
Apostles, or accounts resting upon the authority of Jesus Himself.
But the Second Gospel contains a description of our Lord's Baptism,
when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and a Voice from
Heaven declared Him to be Son of God ; and this suggests that the
earliest belief was that it was then that He became the Divine Son —
God's Chosen (cf. Lk. 9. 35) ; and it may be contended that the
later belief rested not on testimony but on argument, it being in-
ferred that, if Jesus was really divine, He must have been such from
His entrance into the world, and that consequently the Holy Spirit
must have descended upon Mary and enabled her to conceive Him
whilst she was still virgin (as represented in Mt. and Lk ). In the
Fourth Gospel also there is no reference to the Virgin Birth, though
the Evangelist was fully convinced that Jesus was the supreme
manifestation of Godhead in human flesh ; and he does not suggest
that the Incarnation of the Divine Reason in Him was accompanied
by a physical miracle.
The balancing of the conflicting considerations for and against
the historical value of the two opening chapters of the First and
Third Gospels cannot be carried further here; but a theological
argument requires to be briefly noticed. It has been urged that
the Conception of Jesus by a Virgin was needed to break the entail
of corruption in human nature, and to give to our race a fresh start.
It is not obvious, however, why the entail of evil (as the argu-
ment implies) should be held to be transmitted from generation to
generation by the male parent alone, and that consequently this
factor had to be eliminated. It seems more reasonable to think
that a " fresh start," or rather a stronger stimulus, towards the
conquest of moral evil has been furnished by the teaching and
example of Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit communicated
through the Church which He founded; and that for this His
Conception by a Virgin was not essential.
If poetic imagination has really been responsible for the origin
of the stories in the first two chapters of Mt. and Lk (as it has
certainly been in the elaboration of them), it is not likely that
pagan myths have been contributory, though legends about various
kings and other illustrious characters, describing them as deriving
their parentage from a divine father and a human mother, were in
circulation. The atmosphere of the two accounts, like the diction
1 See also Gal. 4. 4; Rom. i. 3; 5. 12-21.
THE RESURRECTION 29
in which they are couched, is Hebraic; and the ideas pervading
them emanate from the O.T. In particular, the prophecy occurring
in Is. 7. 14, which is quoted in Mt., and in which a Hebrew word
meaning " a young woman," whether married or not, is translated
in the LXX. by " virgin," can plausibly be regarded as having
been an influential element in the original creation of the
narratives.
In Lk. the crucial passage implying the conception of Jesus
by Mary before her marriage to Joseph is i. 34, 35 ; and there is
some slight, but very slight, textual evidence for the absence of
verse 34; for the arrangement of the subsequent verses in the order
38* j 35 » 36» 37» 38b; and for the omission, in 3. 23, of the parenthesis
" as was supposed." If this " various reading " is accepted as
original, the Child Whose birth is predicted is represented as the
offspring of the forthcoming union of Mary and Joseph (cf. the
reference to Mary and Joseph as His parents in Mk. 3. 21, 31). But
if, in ch. i. verse 34 is rejected as not genuine, there disappears all
ground for the parallel drawn by the writer between Elizabeth and
Mary in i. 36; and Mary's words in i. 38 lack an adequate motive.1
For the second miracle here discussed testimony is forthcoming
both from St. Paul's Epistles and from the collective Gospels. That
the Apostles became convinced that Jesus, after His death on the
Cross, had been restored to Life seems clear from the revulsion of
feeling which they manifested shortly after the Crucifixion, passing
as they did from a state of despair (which had led them to desert
their Lord on the occasion of His arrest) to a condition of con-
fidence and exultation His renewed Life, after the torture and
ignominy of the Cross, was evidence to them of His triumph over
His enemies. It was to the proof which they believed themselves
to have received of His Resurrection from the dead that they
appealed in support of their contention that He was destined by God
to be the Judge of mankind ; and that only through faith in Him
could men obtain release from their sins (Acts 3. 12 f ; 10. 40-43;
13. 17 f . ; 17. 22 f.) , and it was the trust which they placed in a
Risen Christ that supported them under the persecutions to which
they became exposed. But upon the nature of the proof which
convinced them it is difficult to arrive at confident conclusions.
Several narratives are contained in the N.T. documents, relating
how the disciples of Jesus saw Him, and spoke with Him after His
death and burial ; but between these, when they are compared to-
gether, there are numerous divergences and discrepancies which
prevent the construction of a coherent account as to what is repre-
sented as observed and heard. The differences relate both to the
localities where the Appearances of the Risen Lord first occurred,
and to the persons by whom they were seen; they raise the question
whether the sepulchre wherein He had been buried was found empty ;
1 The Textual evidence is given and examined by Box, The Virgin
Birth of Jesus, pp. 35 f., 223 f.
30 THE RESURRECTION
and they inevitably occasion speculations as to whether or not what
is represented as having been seen and heard was apprehended by
the witnesses of them through the medium of. their physical senses.
It seems desirable to consider these in some detail.
The earliest evidence for the re-appearance of Jesus in Life, after
His Crucifixion and entombment, to several individual persons or
groups of persons is that furnished by St. Paul (/ Cor. 15. 5-8). In
the passage here cited the Apostle mentions no localities; but he
enumerates those persons to whom our Lord appeared, namely (a)
Peter, (b) the " Twelve " (presumably only eleven, Judas being
absent), (*•) a collective body of five hundred disciples, (d) James
(the Lord's brother), (e) " all the Apostles " (perhaps inclusive of
Matthias), and (/) himself (when near the termination of his journey
from Jerusalem to Damascus, as recorded in Acts) In regard to
the first occasion when an appearance of Jesus took place, St. Paul
states that He was raised on " the third day " ; but as he appends
the words " according to the Scriptures," it is possible that he is
not reproducing testimony to the precise day on which the appear-
ance occurred, but has in mind a prophetic passage like Hos 6. 2.1
Unlike St. Paul, the Evangelists allude to the localities where the
Lord was seen ; but they differ among themselves as to what those
localities were. This might be expected, if the Risen Christ was
seen by individuals or groups of individuals in various places, each
Evangelist preserving only the traditions which had reached him-
self or those which specially interested him. Nevertheless, a very
striking contrast is apparent between the author of Mt. (who prob-
ably drew upon the lost ending of Mk ) and St. Luke (the Third
Evangelist, in his last chapter, having used another source besides
Mk.). St. Mark (to judge from 14. 28; 16. 7) probably related an
appearance of Jesus to His Apostles in Galilee , and the First Evan-
gelist certainly states that Jesus, besides being seen by two women
in Jerusalem, also showed Himself to His disciples in Galilee St.
Luke, on the contrary, not only confines his accounts to appearances
in, or near, Jerusalem, but likewise seems to exclude altogether the
idea that there were subsequent appearances of which Galilee was
the scene (see 24. 36-53). The Fourth Evangelist relates appear-
ances of the Lord in both of the localities mentioned, though that
which is placed in Galilee does not correspond with the representa-
tion of Mt. In regard to the persons by whom the Lord was seen,
the Evangelists vary from both St. Paul and one another. St.
Mark, as his Gospel now exists, does not record any occasion on
which the Lord Himself was seen, but describes how, on the second
day after the Crucifixion and Burial, three women, coming to the
tomb, saw " a young man arrayed in white," who told them that
Jesus had risen from the grave (which was empty) and bade them
convey a message to the disciples (Peter being expressly mentioned)
that they would see their Lord in Galilee— a message which the
1 Cf. also Jon. i. 17, Sept. ( = 2. i, Heb ) : see Mt. 12. 40
THE RESURRECTION 31
women, through fear, failed to communicate, at least at the time.
The first Evangelist repeats much of MkSs account, though he men-
tions only two women; designates the *' young man" as an angel;
and states that the women, instead of hesitating, hastened, to carry
to the disciples the message entrusted to them; but he adds that on
their way they met Jesus Himself, Who reiterated the angel's direc-
tions. He goes on to record that the Eleven disciples went to Galilee,
and there, in the neighbourhood of a hill, saw the Lord. On the
other hand, St. Luke, who also reproduces St. Mark's account of
the women's visit to the tomb, alters one of the names, and modifies
the terms of the angelic message (here reported as communicated
by two angels). He mentions, in addition, that St. Peter also went
to the tomb, and found it vacant ; and he describes occasions when
the Lord was seen (a) by two disciples who were proceeding from
Jerusalem to a village in the vicinity ; and (b) by the Eleven Apostles
at Jerusalem itself, who tell the two disciples that the Lord had
appeared to Peter individually. The Lucan narrative, which, as
has been said, is silent upon any appearances of the Lord to persons
in Galilee (which is the most likely scene of the occasion when the
Lord was seen by the five hundred), places the Ascension near
Bethany, though the text is doubtful. The Fourth Evangelist diverges
from the others in respect of those (both women and men) who went
to the sepulchre and discovered it empty, by retaining the name of
only one woman and by adding the name of John to that of Peter ;
he recounts an appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene ; and two
successive appearances to the Apostles at Jerusalem (one, when
Thomas was absent (this being perhaps identical with that men-
tioned in Lk. 24. 36-49), and a second when he was present) ; and,
finally, he describes an occasion when, on the shore of the Galilcean
Lake, Jesus was seen by seven disciples.
It is reasonable to suppose that the accounts, alike of St. Paul
and of the several Evangelists, are not intended to be exhaustive ;
in different circles some traditions would be preferred to others.
But it is obvious that, even where the narratives clearly relate to
the same occurrences, the reports concerning such occurrences varied
in detail ; so that it is impossible to derive a perfectly consistent
impression from them. In Mt. and Joh. the first appearance of the
Lord is to a woman or to women ; and though St. Paul omits
all mention of such, he may have done so intentionally, holding their
testimony to be, for his purpose, insufficiently authoritative. Of
men St. Peter is definitely stated by St. Paul to have been the
earliest to see the Lord (/ Cor. 15 5 ; cf . Lk 24. 34) ; and it is sug-
gested by Lk. 22. 32 that he was the first to convince his fellow-
disciples that their Master was really alive from the dead. The
scene of this appearance, according to St. Luke, was Jerusalem;
and if the tradition preserved by him is regarded as the more
credible, the meeting o£ Jesus with Peter and the Apostles in Galilee
(Mt. 28. 16) must have been later (it has been suggested that they
went thither to communicate what they had witnessed at Jerusalem
32 THE RESURRECTION
to adherents of Jesus in their former home). Moreover, it is in
favour of Jerusalem as the scene of the appearance to St. Peter when
alone that it is consistent with the association of the Resurrection
with the second day after the Crucifixion (the first day of the next
week). For if the Risen Lord manifested Himself first in Galilee,
two days seems too short a period for the Apostles to have covered
within it the distance between the Jewish capital and that district;
and consequently, if Galilee was the scene, it appears necessary to
assume that the Resurrection came to be connected with the second
day after the Crucifixion (according to Hebrew reckoning, the third)
merely through the influence of passages like Hos. 6. 2 or Jon. i 17.
And if the final chapter of Lk. is derived mainly from Proto-Luke
(p 259), it is possible that it comes from a source earlier in date than
Mk. But if the lost end of Afk. contained an account of an appear-
ance of the Lord to St Peter, and the other disciples in Galilee, and
Mt. 28. 16-20 is based on this, the account probably came from St.
Peter himself, and so would seem to have the best authority behind
it. Moreover, it is more intelligible that the first Resurrection
appearance, if originally occurring in Galilee, should afterwards, in
popular thought, have come to be associated with the neighbour-
hood of the sepulchre in Jerusalem (when once the belief prevailed
that it had been found empty), than that, if the Jewish capital was
really the scene of this, it should have become connected with Galilee
later, since for such a transference no adequate reason can be
suggested.
If the conclusion that it was in Galilee and not in Jerusalem
that the earliest appearances of the Lord were witnessed is deemed
the more probable, it becomes necessary to consider whether the
tomb in which the Body of Jesus was laid was really discovered to be
empty shortly afterwards. All the narratives in the Gospels assert
that this was the case; and the First Evangelist proceeds to imply
that the Jews themselves admitted it, but declared that the Body of
Jesus had been removed by His disciples. By the Evangelists gener-
ally it is either stated or implied that the boulder closing the
sepulchre had been rolled back by supernatural agency ; and it is
reasonable to suppose them to mean that this was done to enable
Jesus, restored to physical life, to issue from the sepulchre. It is
in keeping with this that by more than one of the Evangelists it
is represented that our Lord, after His Resurrection, could be
touched and could take food (Mt. 28. 9; Lk. 24. 391-43; Joh. 21. 5-12).
But since by two of them (Lk. 24. 31 ; Joh. 20. 19, 26) He is described
as vanishing from men's sight at will, and entering and leaving a
room with closed doors (this presupposing that He could at pleasure
assume and discard certain corporeal attributes), His power to do so
seems to render superfluous the removal of the boulder in order to
allow Him to leave the tomb. Consequently we are driven to infer
that the Evangelists really believed the boulder to have been rolled
away merely to enable those who came to the tomb to convince them-
selves that it was actually empty. On the other hand, the language
THE RESURRECTION 33
of St. Paul in / Cor 15 suggests a different conception of the con-
ditions of the Resurrection-Life The Apostle's statements do not,
indeed, refer expressly to our Lord; but it is not unreasonable to
conclude that what he expected to happen to the followers of Jesus
he believed to have happened in the instance of their Lord. He
anticipated that to those Christians who died before the Final Judg-
ment, and whose earthly bodies would decay (the material elements
becoming absorbed by other forms of life) there would be given
another body, imperishable and incorruptible, which he calls (if his
words are translated literally) a " spiritual body " And since in
the present material world the physical body is the organ through
which the human personality obtains self-expression, analogy is in
favour of the assumption made by the Apostle that the same per-
sonality, if it survives death, will require and receive a correspond-
ing instrument for its activities in a spiritual sphere But if St.
Paul thought of the Risen Christ as having a Body similar in
nature to those bodies with which he expected Christians to be
invested at the Judgment, that Body must likewise have been a
" spiritual " Body. Of a spiritual " body" indeed, we are able to
form no positive notion ; but we can with some reason infer nega-
tively that such would have none of the qualities which are asso-
ciated with solidity, and would be incapable of being touched or
handled.
To both of the conflicting ideas here briefly noticed (the conflict
being especially conspicuous in the contradiction between / Cor. 15.
50 and Lk. 24. 39*) great difficulties attach ; but to some thinkers
the idea of a transition to a " Heavenly " mode of existence of the
same body which is united to the soul in this world will seem to
involve the most serious. The structure of the human frame, as
known to us under earthly conditions, is specially fitted for functions
and activities, the counterpart of which can scarcely be imagined
to exist in <l Heaven"; so that its survival and continuance under
" Heavenly " conditions would appear to serve no purpose (cf. Mk.
12. 25). The prevalence, amongst the Jews of Palestine, of a belief
in the re-animation and resurrection of the physical body (Dan.
12. 2), instead of a belief in a future life for the soul alone (such as
finds expression in the Alexandrian book of Wisdom, 3. 1-9) was
probably due to the anticipation that the scene of that future life
would be a renovated earth. Between a doctrine of the immortality
of the soul only, and a doctrine involving the resuscitation of the
body likewise (cf Acts 2. 31), the Pauline conception seems to be a
compromise, which seeks to evade the difficulties that attach to each
alternative But to consider the question further would necessitate
a discussion of the relations between Matter and Spirit exceeding
the limits appropriate to this Introduction. It only remains to add
here the suggestions (i) that Christ's manifestation of His presence
to His disciples after His crucifixion and burial (attested alike by
St. Paul and the Evangelists) may have been purely psychic, Spirit
acting directly upon Spirit, apart from any impressions produced
34 MIRACLES IN ACTS
on the organs of sense from without;1 and (2) that the narrative
implying that the sepulchre was found vacant may rest upon nothing
but inferences drawn from crude corporeal ideas of the Resurrection
which eventually came to occupy the minds of many. There is no
reason to suppose that corporeal ideas about the conditions of
Christ's Risen Life would be long in developing ; current beliefs in
our Lord's lifetime took for granted that anyone raised from the
dead resumed his previous state of existence, but was endowed with
heightened powers (see Mk. 6. 14-16). The growth of a conviction
that the Tomb was found empty (which would almost certainly follow
upon a materialistic conception of the Risen Body) may account for
the tradition preserved by St. Luke and St. John that the earliest
appearances of the Risen Saviour occurred at Jerusalem.
A few words may be appended concerning our Lord's Ascension.
The detailed narrative in Acts i 9-11 (which contrasts strikingly
with Lk. 25 51 b (of doubtful authenticity)), if it is taken, like the
accounts of the Resurrection in the Third and Fourth Gospels, to be a
literal description of what actually occurred before eye-witnesses,
implies that Jesus, possessing in His Risen life a physical body, as He
did before His death (though now invested with enhanced capacities),
with it visibly rose upward to the sky until His further ascent
was hidden by a Cloud. But with the modern idea that Heaven is
not a locality above the earth but a condition of the human spirit,
the narrative in question can only be reconciled by the supposition
that the bodily Ascension of Jesus from the earth, if objectively
visible, merely served an evidential purpose, and was designed to
convince a number of persons, who entertained spatial notions about
Heaven, that He had really passed into it On the other hand,
those who are sensitive to objections that attend this explanation will
prefer to believe that the description represents the only idea which
the Evangelist and his contemporaries (for whom " Heaven " was
an abode above the sky) could form about the manner in which
Jesus, after the Appearances of Him had ceased, must finally have
entered into His Glory. The "forty days" (as literally rendered)
of Acts i. 3 is a conventional number (cf. Ex. 24. 18; 34. 28; / Kg.
19. 8; Mk. i. 13) designating a considerable, but not precisely
defined, period, whilst the Cloud that received the Lord is probably
to be understood in the same sense as the Cloud at the Transfigura-
tion— viz., the Shechinah, which was believed both to symbolize
and to conceal the Presence of God (Ex. 19. 9; 24. 16). For such as
take this view, the account must have a symbolic value only.
In the book of Acts there are contained, in addition to the narra-
tive of the Ascension, accounts of various miracles that occurred
during the early years of the Christian Church. The Apostles of
Jesus, who, during His ministry, are described as being empowered
by Him to work cures upon the sick and the mentally deranged
1 If the Risen Christ appeared clothed to those who saw Him, their
memory, among other mental faculties, must have been stirred
into activity.
MIRACLES IN ACTS 35
(Mk. 3. 14, 15; 6. 7, 13; Lk. 10. 9), are, in the Epistles and Acts, re-
presented as exercising the same power after His Death and Resur-
rection. St. Paul, for example, claims to have wrought at Corinth
Signs and Wonders which he affirmed to be the credentials of an
Apostle (// Cor. 12. u, 12; cf. Rom. 15. 18, 19; Gal. 3. 5); and he
ascribes the possession of like power to others (/ Cor. 12 9, 10). In Acts
various instances are recorded of the restoration of afflicted persons to
physical soundness and mental health by both St. Peter and St.
Paul (3. i-io; 9. 32-34; 14. 8-10 ; 16. 16-18; 19. 12; 28. 8) and also
by Philip " the Missionary " (8. 7). Whether the two narratives (9.
37-41 ; 20. 9-12) in which St. Peter and St. Paul are each related
to have raised a dead person to life should be accepted in the sense
which St. Luke intends to convey will depend upon the judgment
reached about the parallel cases in the Gospels ; in the instance of
Eutychus St. Paul's own words clearly suggest that the young man
was not killed by his fall from the window.
Included in St. Luke's second work there are two accounts of
wonderful deliverances from prison experienced by certain Apostles
(5. 19-215; 12 6-1 1), but these are most naturally to be regarded as
poetical descriptions (inspired by religious feeling) of providential
occurrences, which were really brought about, not by supernatural,
but by human, agents.
From what has been said, it will be seen that the evidence
available for forming conclusions about our Loid's ministry, and the
history of the Church for the first thirty years after the Crucifixion,
though it is not great in bulk, is yet, on the whole, good in quality.
This may be affirmed without the fact being ignored that the earliest
documents relating Christ's words and works are second-hand
authorities, separated by a considerable period from the incidents
and discourses recorded, and, are translations of what was originally
iccounted or reported in Aramaic. The earliest of the Gospels was
probably written less than forty years after Christ's Death ; and Q
and L may be earlier still. St. Mark's Gospel is based on the
recollections of one of the Apostles, and though the sources from
which Q and L are derived can only be conjectured, the trust
worthiness of the discourses, at least, which are contained in these,
seems warranted by their penetrating and impressive character.
The arresting form in which Jesus' maxims of conduct were cast,
and the graphic stories and effective allegories with which He
illustrated the spiritual principles that He enunciated, were calcu-
lated to preserve what He said from oblivion or serious alteration.
Hence we may feel convinced that of the main incidents of His brief
ministry, of the tenor of His teaching, and of the author itativeness of
His Personality we have a fairly reliable account. For the early
history of the Church we can draw, in some slight measure, upon
the correspondence of St. Paul, which, for historical purposes, is
all the more valuable because it was elicited by the circumstances of
the moment, and is unstudied in its form and language. The
systematic account of the progress of the Church contained in the
36 HISTORICAL VALUE OF THE N.T.
book of Acts varies in its value, as has been pointed out already;
but the writer was in a position to obtain much of the information
that he desired; and though in his narratives (as in the case of the
Gospels) personal prepossessions and the mental atmosphere of the
age have to be allowed for, it can scarcely be doubted that his work,
as a whole, is of real historical value.
It is when transition is made from generalities to details that
conclusions about the credibility of certain parts of the N.T. are
influenced by the presuppositions of its readers on the subject of the
miraculous. But the approach to the study of ancient history as
a whole is affected by like presuppositions ; and even for the firmest
disbelievers in miracles the presence, in professedly historical writ-
ings, of stories of miracles is not necessarily fatal to their historical
value at large. And if of some aspects of the N.T. documents modern
thought is much more critical than ancient thought was inclined
to be, reflection will show that the course of time has not diminished
but enhanced certain considerations which are essential to a right
judgment upon the central problem of the N.T., and which are con-
firmatory of the Christian faith. If the advances made in both the
science of nature and the science of history have rendered the stan-
m dard of what constitutes good evidence for various alleged facts
far more exacting, with the result that the measure of trust once
placed in the physical miracles related in the Gospel as accrediting
the Christian Faith, has been seriously impaired, at all events one
factor, strengthening the belief that in Jesus Christ there was given
to the world a unique revelation of God, has gained in weight
through the lapse of centuries This factor is the record of the
Christian Church which He created. The Gospel story has been
rightly declared to be only the prologue to the history of
Christianity.1 In the case of the Apostles, during the years follow-
ing the Crucifixion, it was not merely because of the Appearances of
their Lord to them after His death and burial (whatever the nature
of those Appearances may have been) but also because of an inner
change in themselves of which they were conscious, that they believed
Jesus to be alive from the dead, and to be the Lord and Judge of
mankind. Through His renewed Life in the Spirit they felt them-
selves to be in possession of enhanced spiritual power (see Rom. 7.
19-25 ; Phil. 4. 13; cf. Joh. 14 19). By the side of this experience
the memories, or reports, of His life on earth, though doubtless
treasured, and perhaps amplified as time went on, could scarcely
be of decisive moment And if more evidence of a like character
is wanted, it is derivable from the rapid penetration of the Roman
Empire by the Christian Faith; for within little more than three
centuries from the date of the Crucifixion an Emperor professedly a
Christian occupied the throne of the Caesars. No doubt more than
one factor contributed to this spread of Christianity; but the most
effective was the secret influence exerted on the heathen world by
1 The phrase is F. C. Burkitt's.
THE O.T. IN THE N.T. 37
the uprightness of conduct and constancy of devotion manifested
by Christian Believers, thrown into relief, as these were, by the
savage persecutions with which contemporary rulers repeatedly
sought to suppress the Faith which the Church cherished. And
since that time the progress of Christianity in reforming and up-
lifting mankind has, in spite of the impediments occasioned by the
crimes and follies of numbers of nominal Christians, extended ever
more and more widely. If, then, it is more difficult now than
formerly to credit all the physical wonders related in connection with
our Lord's earthly life, it is possible to turn with some confidence
to the triumphs won by His Spirit, as exemplified in His true
followers during all subsequent ages. In that Spirit (as the Fourth
Evangelist represents) He returned to the world after His death;
and in Its activities we can find proof (in St. Paul's words) that
Christ, though crucified in consequence of human weakness, was
nevertheless alive through the Power of God (// Cor. 13. 4).
(3) SOME O.T. PASSAGES, CITED IN THE N.T., CON-
SIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN CRITICISM.
The early Hebrews had as little acquaintance with the remote
history of the human race as they had with that of the earth upon
which that race lives. Like other ancient peoples, they supplied their
lack of knowledge of pre-histonc ages by myths and legends. When,
in the course of time, obscure traditions concerning the past came
into existence, and when curiosity about their own ancestry and
that of neighbouring nations manifested itself, such traditions began
to be treasured. But there was little comprehension of the uncer-
tainty and inaccuracy inseparable from anything handed on through
the centuries by oral transmission only ; so that when traditions
began to be written down, fixity and definiteness were given to much
that had a very insecure basis. Moreover, when historical narra-
tives, or what purported to be historical narratives, were composed,
it was almost exclusively from a religious standpoint that such
records were compiled. And since in the national memory a few
great names were cherished as those of personalities who by Divine
guidance and inspiration had been leaders in the migrations of their
countrymen at certain epochs in their history, or who had laid the
foundations of their religious and national life, or who had been
foremost in developing the arts, there grew up a tendency towards the
indiscriminate association of tribal movements, legislative codes, and
certain types of literature with such names without regard to his-
toric probabilities And inasmuch as the literary compositions of
the Hebrews were (as already implied) predominantly religious in
character, being principally devoted to relating the dealings of God
with their nation, it was not unnatural that these eventually acquired
a sacredness which caused their very wording to be invested with
profound significance.
The books contained in what is now styled the Old Testament
(but would be far more appropriately called the Old Covenant, cf.
38 THE O.T. IN THE N.T.
77 Cor. 3. 14) were for Palestinian Christians of the first century
their entire Bible, and possessed for them Divine authority as being
inspired by God. This consideration throws light upon the implicit
confidence which they placed in the letter of their Scriptures; upon
the unhistorical spirit (as it seems to us) in which they interpreted
them ; and upon the remote meanings which they sometimes extracted
from statements in them. It is needless to say that by this it is
not intended to disparage the exceptional value for religion that
marks the greater part of the O.T. ; but it is expedient to emphasize
the mechanical view of its inspiration entertained by the Jews, who
attached equal importance to various elements in it which really
differ very widely in their historical, moral, and theological worth.
The following examples will serve to illustrate the change of
estimate now prevailing about the origin and value of certain O T.
passages quoted or cited in the N.T., as compared with that enter-
tained concerning them in the Apostolic Age. In some cases where
such passages enter into the texture of an argument, the reasoning
has altogether ceased to have force for ourselves; in others the
alteration of view is of no great significance ; whilst in others again
the argument requires only to be re-stated in terms of modern
thought to carry weight still.
(a) Notice may first be taken of the belief held about the author-
ship of particular books, the correctness of which can no longer be
maintained. Injunctions comprised in the books of Exodus,
Leviticus, and Deuteronomy are assigned to Moses (Afk. 12. 19, 26;
Rom, 10. 5) whom modern scholarship cannot consider to have been
the author of the whole of the Pentateuch (as we have it), even if
any part of it is really his composition. A passage included in the
second half of Isaiah is obviously deemed to have been uttered by
the son of Amoz (Rom. 10. 20), though it is tolerably certain that
it really emanated from a prophet of much later date. The origin
of Ps. 109, Sept. (no Heb.) is attributed to David not only by St.
Peter (Acts 2 34, 35) but also by our Lord (Mk. 12. 36), though it
was probably composed at a date much later than David's reign.
But in several instances the reputed authorship of an O.T. book is of
no importance. The books of the Pentateuch, no doubt, are not
the production of Moses; yet the ascription of them to him has this
amount of justification, that the Hebrew legislative system, though
the work of centuries, was in all probability developed from prin-
ciples laid down by him. More difficulty may seem to be involved
in our "Lord's citation of the opening wordsj of Ps. 109 (no) as hav-
ing been uttered by David, for David's authorship of the psalm was
essential, if Jesus' question was to have point. The date and origin
are debatable; but the fact that the initial Hebrew letters of w.
ib-4 coincide with the consonants that constitute the name of
11 Simon," the Maccabee, who, after having, in 142 B.C., secured
Jewish independence, was made by the People " their leader and
high priest " (see 7 Mace . 14. 35), favours the inference that the
psalm was the work of a poet (living some 800 years after David),
THE O.T. IN THE N.T. 39
who wrote it in honour of Simon. If this is correct, it may be a
source of perplexity to many readers that our Lord should have been
ignorant of such a fact. It might, indeed, be contended that His
ignorance was only apparent, and that in assuming that David was
its author, He was merely taking, for the purpose of argument,
common ground with those whom He was questioning. Neverthe-
less, it is likely that Jesus, in reality, was as little aware of the
post-Davidic origin of the psalm (if the date mentioned above may
be deemed most probable) as the rest of His countrymen, and that
His sharing, in respect of His nation's history and literature, the
beliefs of His contemporaries was a condition inseparable from the
human limitations to which the Divine Reason, in taking flesh in
Him (Job. i. 14) at a particular period and in a particular country,
became subject.
(b) Our Lord's allusions to Lot's wife (Lk. 17. 32), l and to the
detention of Jonah in the belly of the sea-monster and his deliverance
from it after two days (Mt. 12. 40), if these allusions really proceeded
from Him, admit of a similar explanation. The statement that Lot's
wife was changed into a pillar of salt is, no doubt, an setiological
legend, designed to account for the resemblance of some block of
stone, impregnated with salt, to a human figure; whilst the Book of
Jonah is an allegory, meant to illustrate the mission which God
intended Israel to fulfil in the world, the spirit in which it dis-
charged this duty, and the experiences which it underwent (for the
last cf. Jer. 51. 34). But in the Scriptural narratives both the legend
and the allegory appear as records of actual happenings; and Jesus,
being truly human as well as Divine, would naturally view them in
the light in which they were regarded by others of His time.
(c) In Gal. 3. 1 6 St. Paul, in referring to the promise represented
in Gen. 13. 15 as made by God to Abraham and his posterity, lays
stress on the circumstance that the singular " seed " (i e. posterity)
is used, and not the plural " seeds " ; and draws the conclusion
that by the employment of the singular " the Christ " was designated.
Again, in Heb. 7. 3 the writer, treating of the narrative concerning
Melchizedek (Gen. 14), makes the absence of any mention of his
lineage the ground of a parallel between that priest-king and
the Son of God. In neither case does the reasoning appeal to
ourselves. It would De as unnatural for the original writer of
Gen. 13 to use the plural of a collective substantive to denote
Abraham's descendants as it would be for an English writer to
describe them as his " posterities " ; and the significance discerned
by the author of Heb. in the silence about Melchizedek's genealogy
appears to us purely fanciful.
(d) Prophetic premonitions of certain events in the Infancy
of our Lord are detected by the First Evangelist in various passages
of the O.T. (ML 2. 15, 18). It is difficult to think that the prophets
whose words are quoted (Hosea and Jeremiah) had in their minds
1 See also the references to Abel, Noah, etc. (Mt. 23. 35; 24- 37 *•)•
40 THE O.T. IN THE N.T.
anything more than occurrences in the history of the kingdoms of
Israel and Judah. Nevertheless, it was not wholly unnatural that
writers who regarded the advent of the Messiah as the culmination
of their national hopes should search in their Sacred Books for fore-
shadowings of such an event and its accompaniments, and should
not fail to find them, however little their discoveries impress modern
thinkers.
(e) In Acts 8. 32-35 the " Servant of the Lord," portrayed in
Is. 53, is identified with Jesus; and the Servant's sufferings are else-
where regarded as throwing light upon the purpose and effect of
Jesus' Passion and Death (Joh. i. 29; Heb. 9. 28). l The value of
this prophecy of Christ's experiences is very different from that of
the prophecies just considered. It was not, indeed, a direct pre-
diction of those experiences : in the original passage, as it stands
in Isaiah 53, the Lord's Servant, whose past sufferings and future
exaltation are there delineated, denotes, in all probability, the Jewish
nation, or rather the flower of that nation, which in 587 B.C. was
deported to Babylon The writer of the sixteen chapters 40-55
(commonly designated Deutero-IsaiaH) saw, in the Exile endured
by his countrymen, a means whereby knowledge of the God of Israel
would reach the heathen (53. nb, mg.) ; and under the influence of
current sacrificial ideas he thought of the sufferings of the collective
exiles as making atonement for the sins of others (including those
of their oppressors).2 But although the Prophet's words are not a
f< prediction " of our Lord's death, they draw attention to the re-
demptive value of the pain and grief of the innocent in transforming
the lives of many sinners who become aware of them ; and so the
Prophet, when he penned the words in question, described more
accurately than he knew the saving work which was to be accom-
plished for mankind six hundred years after his own day by Jesus
of Nazareth.
(/) It is not only historical but mythical narratives that can
illustrate the working of moral principles. The story of the Fall
in Gen. 3 is a myth, purporting to explain the contrast subsisting
between the actual conditions of human existence and those which
(it was felt) must have been originally created by a beneficent Deity.
The change was explained as due to the disobedience shown by the
first pair of human beings to a particular command of God (this
being an archaic way of representing men's defiance of the dictates
of their conscience through yielding to the impulses of their lower
nature) and the consequent penalty which such defiance merits and
sometimes, even in this world, receives. Of this story of the first
sin St. Paul makes use in Rom. 5. 12 (cf. I Cor. 15. 22), drawing a
parallel and a contrast between Adam and Christ. But so far as
the Apostle represents Adam's offence as bringing death into the
1 Is. 53 must have been in the mind of our Lord shortly before His
Passion • cf. Mk. 10 45 with Is. 53. i2b and Lk. 22. 37 with
I2a.
8 Cf. II Mace. 7. 37, 38 (in connection with individual sufferers).
THE O.T. IN THE N.T. 41
world, he is at variance both with the record in Gen. and with the
history of life on this planet, as it is known from palaeontology. By
the Hebrew writer of Genesis it is implied that Adam and his wife
were created mortal from the first, for they could only have become
immortal by eating the fruit of the tree of life (which, but for their
disobedience, they might have been allowed to do) ; whilst the evi-
dence of the rocks reveals the presence of death in the world long
anterior to the evolution of man. Whether St. Paul believed that
Adam's descendants inherited a perverted nature is not clear; but
there is no assertion in Genesis that this was the case. In reality,
the legacy of ill which each generation of men, through evil-doing,
transmits to its posterity is most clearly traced in the influence of
corrupting examples and injurious conditions for which it may be
responsible. As a narrative purporting to record historical happen-
ings the story of the Fall is, of course, destitute of any value. But
it is strikingly faithful to ethical and theological truth, presented,
indeed, not as a modern philosopher or theologian would present it,
but as it was apprehended by an ancient thinker whose native genius
led him, in his endeavour to impart such truth, to convey it by
means of an impressive myth, possibly derived originally from
Babylonia, but transformed in the purer atmosphere of Hebrew
monotheism.
(g) The descriptions of the Divine attributes and actions in the
O.T., especially in the earlier books, are so anthropomorphic that
they call for some interpretation and re-statement. In various
passages the Divine Being is represented as addressing men either
face to face ; or by a Voice from Heaven ; or else as communicating
with them through angelic messengers. These representations are
the crude ideas of primitive thinkers about the way in which God
makes known His mandates or warnings or promises to His creatures.
By ourselves they must be interpreted as poetic symbols of the
truth that the conceptions which men come to entertain about the
Divine Will through their reason and conscience have their source
in God Himself. And the account of how God engaged Himself to
grant great favours to the People of Israel on certain conditions is
an extension of the same symbolic manner of speaking. The LORD
(the substitute, in the LXX., for the Heb. Jehovah or Yahweh) is
related to have first admitted to special relations with Himself
Israel's distant ancestor Abraham, to whom He promised, by a one-
sided pledge, many descendants and possessions (Gen. 12. 15) ; but in
this narrative there has been carried back into the remote past an
idea (with a difference) that arose in Mosaic times. The origin of
Israel's belief that the LOKD took them for His own Peculiar People
may reasonably be found in their deliverance from Egypt and their
successful invasion of Canaan. Upon such a rabble of serfs as the
Israelites then were, their escape from slavery could hardly help
leaving the impression that they had been signally favoured by the
God of their race, and that He was more powerful than the divinities
worshipped by their oppressors; and since their leader Moses im-
42 THE O.T. IN THE N.T.
posed upon them a code of laws, ethical as well as ceremonial, of
which God was the ostensible, and in an ultimate sense the real,
Author, and on the observance of which by the People a continuance of
the Divine favour was declared to depend, the conception of a bi-
lateral agreement or " covenant " between the LORD and Israel, con-
tracted with forms and ceremonies parallel to those that accompanied
covenants between men, would easily arise. Loyalty, indeed, to the
tie represented as previously subsisting between Israel and Jehovah
had not (it is implied) been maintained by the former during their
slaveiy in Egypt; but their escape from bondage renewed it (Ex. 3.
13). From that occasion onward the belief in the existence of a
" covenant " between Israel and its God survived external disasters,
for these could be explained by the prophets to be the consequences
of national sins. Eventually by Jeremiah the notion of a bi -lateral
" covenant " was replaced by that of a unilateral engagement or
commitment on God's part, for it was declared that the LORD would
forgive His People's offences, and would rely upon such forgiveness
to effect in them the desired change of heart (Jer. 31. 31-34; cf. Heb.
8. 8-12). It was this new type of " covenant," described by the
prophet, that Jesus regarded Himself as inaugurating when He in-
stituted the Eucharist. He believed that the memory of His ap-
proaching self-sacrifice on the Cross — such memory being kept alive
by the repetition, through successive ages, of the Breaking of the
Loaf — would prove a more potent agency for the redemption of men
from their evil habits than any legal system.
What has been said, slight though it is, will perhaps suffice to
exemplify the difference of attitude towards the Old Testament
Scriptures marking the Apostles and Evangelists on the one side
and modern scholarship on the other. The former proceeded on
assumptions which were common to them and their contemporaries,
but which cannot be any longer retained by ourselves. They lived
in a period before historical criticism was born; and the growth of
this science has brought about a re-valuation of numerous state-
ments contained in the O.T. writings, so that much that had weight
and worth for them has none for us l Nevertheless, many of the
arguments built by them upon the O.T. ; many of the examples taken
from it to illustrate God's control over human history ; some even of
the anticipations detected in it of the revelation of the Divine Nature
given to the world in Christ and Christianity, are of permanent
value. For Christianity had its roots in Judaism ; and for such
enquirers as would investigate its growth before its emergence into
the light, no less than its subsequent development, the study of the
Hebrew Scriptures, if pursued on more discriminating principles
than those which prevailed in the early centuries of the Church's
career, can never lose its importance.
1 St. Paul made use not only of legendary matter contained in the
O.T. (/ Cor. n. 10, where the Apostle seems to have in mind
Gen. 6. 1,2) but also of Jewish traditions occurring elsewhere
than in the Scriptures (7 Cor. 10. 4).
NOTE ON THE CANON OF THE N.T.
Since in course of time literary activity increased in the ex-
panding Church, it was not long before it became necessary, in
regard to writings claiming to be the work of Apostles, or of imme-
diate followers of the Apostles, to distinguish (especially for public
reading in Church (cf. 7 Th. 5. 27), where such writings were seem-
ingly ranked with the O.T. Scriptures (// Pet. 3. 16)) between
those about the genuineness of which no doubt was harboured, and
those which lacked good credentials. The existence of the O.T. as
a body of Scriptures, to which constant reference was made, and
in which the fullest confidence was placed, by Jesus and His dis-
ciples, afforded a model for the formation of a similar group of
Christian documents which could be regarded as equally authorita-
tive; and the collection which thus came into being was eventually
styled the Canon of the New Testament, though the term was in-
accurately used. For the word canon means a " rule " or
" measure " ; and the books which composed the Canon were more
properly described as canonized or canonical, as being tn agreement
with " a measure," viz., the standard of teaching current in the
Church. To an oral standard of instruction (anterior to any written
document), which dealt alike with historic events and with rules of
conduct, reference is made by St Paul in / Th. 4. i, 7 Cor. n. a,
23J IS- I'3> Rom. 6. 17; Col. 2. 6.
The books constituting the N.T. Canon varied for a long while
in different localities, some Fathers and local Churches regarding
as canonical certain writings which by others were rejected. The
earliest known attempt to form an authoritative collection of Christian
documents was made by Marcion (A.D. 140), whose object was to
preserve the teaching of St. Paul from all admixture with any in-
struction proceeding from other quarters Accordingly his Canon
consisted of no more than ten Pauline Epistles (the Pastorals being
excluded) and an abbreviated form of the Third Gospel (as being
written by a friend of the Apostle). This arbitrary Canon, how-
ever, received no approval from the Church generally. The earliest
list of Canonical books accepted in the Church as worthy of being
read at public worship occurs in the Muratorian Catalogue (circ.
170-180 A.D.). This, unfortunately, is mutilated both at the begin-
ning (it commences in the middle of a sentence) and at the end (for
it concludes abruptly) ; but notwithstanding such defects, it may be
inferred with practical certainty that it mentioned all the four
Gospels of our N.T., since it refers to the Gospel of St. Luke as
the third. In addition to this and Joh. it enumerates Acts, Rev ,
all the Epistles of St. Paul, Jude, and two Epistles of St John.
To these it subjoins an Apocalypse of St. Peter, though noting at
the same time that some refused to allow this to be read in Church.
It will be seen that it omits one Epistle of St. John, both Epistles
of St. Peter, the Epistle of St. James, and Hebrews. But of the
books which find no mention in the Muratorian Catalogue Heb. is
quoted by Clement of Rome (circ. 97), whilst 7 Pet. is quoted by
44 THE CANON OF THE N.T.
Irenaeus in Gaul (circ. 180-190), and by Clement of Alexandria
(circ. 190-200). These last two writers also cite as Scripture a book
entitled The Shepherd, composed by a certain Hermas. That several
of the " Catholic " Epistles gained acceptance but slowly is apparent
not only from the non-inclusion of some of the Muratonan Catalogue
|as already mentioned), but also from the fact that certain of them
vere not contained in two of the Versions of the N.T. Scriptures.
The Old Latin Version did not comprise James and // Peter, and
also omitted Heb., whilst in the Peshitto (Syriac) Version Jude, 11
Peter, II, 111 John, and, besides these, Rev. found no place. Finally,
the historian Eusebius (fire. 324 A.D.) illustrates the diversity of
opinion in the Church of his own day by dividing the books con-
stituting the N.T. as we possess it into two classes — viz. (i) Acknow-
ledged Books and (2) Controverted Books. Among the first he in-
cludes the Four Gospels, Acts, the Epistles of St. Paul (probably
regarding as Pauline not only the Pastorals but likewise Hebrews),
I Joh , I Peter, and Revelation (the last doubtfully) ; whilst in the
second he ranks " the so-called Epistle of James," Jude, 11 Peter, and
//, /// Joh. To a third class of Spurious Books he relegates the Acts
of Paul, the above-mention Shepherd, the Epistle of Barnabas,
and the so-called Teaching of the Apostles, and he concludes by
stating that among these some placed the Gospel according to the
ffebrews. But by the year 400 A D. the New Testament current m
the Early Church was virtually the same as our own ; at any rate, a
Council held at Laodicea in 363 recognized twenty-six out of the
twenty-seven books (Rev. being the only exception), whilst a Council
which met at Carthage in 397 acknowledged the whole twenty-seven.
All the books that came to be included in the Canon were thereby
formally invested with equal authority for Church purposes ; but it
is obvious, from what has been said, that with regard to several of
them there was long entertained in different parts of the primitive
Church serious doubt whether they really were of Apostolic author-
ship, or even originated in Apostolic times. Such doubt has been
revived by many modern critics, who, subjecting to close scrutiny
both the external and the internal evidence for the authenticity of
some of the books that were called in question in early times, have
agreed with those who denied it. Among the " Controverted Books,"
as enumerated by Eusebius, James and 11 Peter are centres of much
debate. Nor has rejection by various scholars been confined to
these, but has been extended to books of which the genuineness was
little disputed in antiquity. Of the " Acknowledged Books " in
Eusebius' classification the Johannme writings and their authorship
occasion a good deal of controversy ; and some critics doubt the
Pauline origin of 11 Th., Col., Eph., and the Pastorals, and the
Petrine origin of I Pet. The grounds upon which such discussions
turn are briefly explained in the Introductions prefixed to the docu-
ments concerned. Whatever be the direction in which the balance
of evidence in regard to their authenticity really inclines, it is clear
that eaual confidence cannot be placed by thoughtful readers in the
THE CANON OF THE N.T. 45
traditional authorship of all the books of the N.T., unless the judg-
ment of the Early Church, in eventually putting all the twenty-seven
on the same level of author itativeness, is to be regarded as final.
If modern investigations have rendered it not improbable that
the Canon has reached its present limits through the inclusion
within it of more than one document of doubtful origin, its extent
would have been considerably increased if all the attempts to narrate
the Life and Ministry of our Lord by the writers to whom reference
is made by St. Luke in the preface to his Gospel, and if all the
Epistles written by St. Paul, had been preserved. Definite allusion
to a Letter either sent to Laodicea, or meant to reach it from some
other place, occurs in Col. 4. 16 ; and there is reason to think that
portions of separate Epistles have been united in II Cor., and that
fragments of others have been incorporated in // Tim. and Titus,
if the Pastorals as a whole are not genuine compositions of the
Apostle.
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
THESSALONIANS
Thessalonica, in Macedonia, was situated at the head of what in
antiquity was termed the Thermaic gulf. Its importance was con-
siderable, and when the Romans conquered Macedonia, it became
the capital of one of the four divisions into which the Province was
divided. It still survives, and retains its ancient name in the form
of Salomki.
The Church at Thessalonica was founded by St. Paul, accom-
panied by Silvanus (or Silas) and Timothy, in the course of his
Second Missionary Journey, 49-52 A.D. (see Acts 15. 40; 16. 1-3;
17. 1-9), the Apostle having gone thither from Philippi, where he
had suffered persecution (2 2; Acts 16. 19-40). The time that he
spent there must have been much longer than the three weeks sug-
gested by Acts 17. 2, for most of the members of the Church appear
to have been Gentiles converted directly from heathenism (in view
of the description of their past in i. 9, and the warning addressed to
them in 4. 1-8). But he was eventually compelled to leave the city
through an agitation occasioned by some of the Jews (Acts 17. 5-9);
and from it he made his way successively to Athens and to Corinth,
both cities being included in the Province of Achaia (i. 7, 8)
The genuineness of the Letter is not generally disputed. Its
authenticity was admitted by Marcion (c. 140), and it is included in
the Muratonan Catalogue (170) ; though the earliest Patristic writer
to quote it appears to be Irenaeus (d. 202) It was probably written
at Corinth, for the Apostle's two fellow-travellers (whom he joins
with himself in the opening address, i. i) were there with him (Acts
1 8. 5), whereas at Athens, where he stayed before reaching Corinth,
he was alone (3. i; cf. Acts 17. 14, 15). The Apostle cannot have
reached Corinth prior to 50 ; so that the date of the Letter may be
that year, or, since he spent a year and a half there (Acts 18. n),
more probably 51. It is, in all likelihood, the earliest of the Pauline
Epistles, and even of all the N.T. documents. If, indeed, 2. i6b, as
has been thought by some scholars, is an allusion to the Fall of
Jerusalem in 70 A.D., it has been argued that the date must be sub-
sequent to that event ; and so late a period would be incompatible
with St. Paul's authorship. But the clause may be a comment in-
troduced by an interpolator after 70, the source of it being the
Apocryphal Testaments of the XII Patriarchs (" But the wrath of
God came upon them to the uttermost," Levi 6. n). The quotation,
however, need not have been made by one who was acquainted with
an act of Divine vengeance already executed, but by St. Paul him-
self, anticipating for his unbelieving countrymen a nemesis still
lying in the future. Suspicions about the genuineness of the Epistle,
entertained on this ground, may therefore be disregarded.
I TH. 1. 1—2. 7 47
11 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the Church of the
Thessalonians, which is united to God the Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ : Divine Favour be yours and Peace.
2 We thank God at all times for all of you, when we mention
you in our prayers, 3 never omitting to call to mind your work,
which is inspired by your faith ; your toil, which is prompted by
your love; and your steadfastness, which is supported by your
hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, when you have to appear before
our God and Father. 4 For that you, Brothers beloved by God,
have been chosen by Him we know ; 5 because the truth of the
Good News which we delivered was brought home to you not by
mere speech but by evidence of Divine Power, and by the presence
of Holy Spirit in you, and by the depth of conviction thereby pro-
duced (just as you, on your side, know what kind of persons we
proved ourselves to be among you, for the promotion of your
good). 6 So you, on your part, became imitators of the Lord and
of us, welcoming the Message (in spite of being involved thereby
in great affliction) with the joy which proceeds from the presence
in you of Holy Spirit; 7 so that you showed yourselves a model
for all Believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For not only has
the Lord's Message, starting from you, rung out in Macedonia
and Achaia, but information concerning your faith towards God
has also gone forth into every locality; so that there is no need
for us to talk at all about you! 9 For the people of those
regions, when speaking about us, spontaneously report the suc-
cessful character of our visit to you — how you turned to God from
your idols to serve a God Who is a Living and a Real God, 10
and to await from Heaven His Son, Whom He raised to Life from
among the dead, even Jesus, Who rescues us from the Wrath
that is on its way.
21 For you yourselves are aware, Brothers, without any re-
minder pom us, that our visit to }ou did not prove a
failure, 2 but that, after we had previously undergone suffering
and wanton outrage at Philippi (as you know), we, through
consciousness of union with our God, became emboldened to com-
municate to you the Good News of God, though at the cost of
great strain. 3 For our appeal to you was not the consequence
of delusion, or prompted by impure motives, or designed to
deceive. 4 No, it is as men who, after having been tested by
God, have been pronounced by Him fit to be entrusted with His
Good News, that we impart that Good News, seeking to win the
approval not of men but of God, Who tests our hearts. 5 For
we did not come with flattering speech (as you know), or with
any pretext for over-reaching you (God is our witness to this),
6 nor with any endeavour to obtain honour from amongst men,
either from you or others, although we had it in our power,
as Christ's Apostles, to assume the airs of men invested with
weighty authority. 7 No, we showed ourselves *gentle* among
48 I TH. 2. 8—3. 4
you, gentle as a nursing-mother, who nurtures her own children.
8 So in our yearning for you we found satisfaction in sharing
with you not only the Good News of God, but even our own
souls, because you had come to be so beloved by us. 9 For you
recall, Brothers, our toil and labour : though working by night
and day at our occupations (in order not to inflict upon any of
you the burden of our maintenance), we proclaimed to you the
Good News of God. 10 You can testify — and so, too, can God, —
how piously and uprightly and blamelessly we conducted our-
selves in the eyes of all of you who are Believers ; 1 1 even as you
know how we made appeal to each one of you, as a father does
to his children ; and gave you encouragement and assurance, 12
our intention being that you should conduct yourselves worthily
of God Who Called you to share His Dominion and Glory.
13 And we, on our part, never omit to thank God for this
also, that, when you received from us God's Message which you
heard, you welcomed it, not as a merely human message but
(just as it really is) a Divine Message. It is also exerting its
influence among you who are Believers. 14 For you, on your
part, Brothers, became imitators of the Churches of God in
Judaea that are united to Christ Jesus because you also suffered
at the hands of your own fellow-countrymen, as those Churches
suffer at the hands of the Jews. 15 These latter have both killed
the Lord — even Jesus; and have persecuted the Prophets and
ourselves, and offend God, and are hostile to all mankind ; 16
hostile, I say, since they try to prevent us from speaking to the
Gentiles, for the promotion of their Salvation ; so that at all
times they are filling up to the brim the measure of their sins.
" But the Divine Wrath came upon them to the uttermost."1
17 But we, Brothers, having been for a brief period bereft
of you (you wore out of sight, though not out of mind), have
been, in our great longing for you, eager — more than eager — to
see your faces, 18 because we had resolved to go to you — yes, I,
Paul, once and again resolved to do so; but Satan hindered us.
19 / wanted to see you, for who is our hope and joy, or will
compose our wreath of victory, of which we shall be so proud
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? Who
else but you? 20 For you — you, I say — are our glory and our joy.
31 Consequently, being able to endure the suspense no longer,
we determined that we would be left behind at Athens by
ourselves, 2 whilst we sent Timothy, our Brother, and God's
minister in diffusing the Good News of the Christ, to strengthen
and encourage you in regard to your faith ; 3 and to prevent any-
one from being lured away by fawning advances in the course of
your present afflictions. 4 Such afflictions are inevitable; for you
yourselves are aware that trouble is our appointed lot; for even
1 Testaments of the XII Patriarchs, Levi. 6. n.
I TH. 3. 6-4. 10 49
when we were with you, we warned you in advance that we were
to suffer affliction (just as has actually proved to be the case, as
you know). 5 Therefore, I, too, experiencing trouble, through
uncertainty about you, and being unable to endure the suspense
any longer, as I said, sent to learn about your fajth, lest haply
the Tempter had successfully tempted you, and' lest our toil
should turn out to have been wasted. 6 But as Timothy has
just returned to us from you, and brought us good news of your
faith and your love, informing us that you always retain a kindly
recollection of us, and that you long to see us, even as we long
to see you, 7 we are for this reason encouraged, Brothers, about
you (in the face of all our hardship and affliction) in consequence
of your faith ; 8 because we now get a fresh lease of life, if
you stand fast, united to the Lord. 9 What adequate thanks-
giving can we return to God for you, because of all the joy which
you enable us to feel in the presence of our God? 10 We sup-
plicate Him most fervently evening and morning that we may see
your faces, and make good the shortcomings of your faith, what-
ever they are. u May our God and Father Himself, and our
Lord Jesus, direct our way to you ! 12 and may the Lord cause
your love to increase, and oxerflow towards each other and to-
wards all men (even as ours does towards you), 13 so as to
strengthen your hearts and render them blameless in sanctity
before our God and Father, at the Coming of our LorcT Jesus
with all His Holy Ones !
41 In conclusion, Brothers, we, as being united to the Lord
Jesus, beseech and appeal to you (instructed as you have been
by us how you should conduct yourselves for winning God's
approval, just as you are actually doing) to be increasingly care-
ful in your conduct. 2 For you are aware what directions we,
authorised by the Lord Jesus, gave to you. 3 For God's will
is this — your continuance in holiness, which means that you must
refrain from all sexual immorality ; 4 that each of you should
know how to get a wife who shall be exclusively his own, and
possess her under conditions of holiness and honour, 5 and not,
like the Gentiles who have no knowledge of God, for the mere
gratification of sensual passion ; 6 so that none, in this matter
of the other sex, should encroach on the rights of his Brother,
or take advantage of him, because the LORD punishes all such
offences, as we have both warned you in advance and solemnly
assured you. 7 For God, in Calling us, designed us not for im-
purity but for living in a state of holiness. 8 Therefore he who
ignores what I say ignores not man but God, Who bestows His
Spirit, His Holy Spirit, upon you.
9 With respect to brotherliness, you have no need of written
directions from us, since you yourselves are Divinely instructed
to love one another; 10 indeed, you do show love to all the
Brothers who are to be found throughout the length and breadth
50 I TH. 4. 11—5. 12
of Macedonia. And we appeal to you, Brothers, to rise to
higher levels still, n and to make it your ambition to live
quietly, and to confine your business to your own concerns;
and to work with your hands just as we charged you to do,
12 in order that your conduct may be reputable in the opinion
of people outside the Church, and that you may stand in no need
of support.
13 Now, we do not want you to remain in ignorance,
Brothers, about those who pass to their rest, lest you should
grieve for them like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again to re-
newed Life, we must also believe that God will bring, together
with Jesus, those who through Him are saved from perdition
and have passed to their rest. 15 For this is what we tell
you by a Message from the Lord, that we, the living, who
may survive till the Coming of the Lord, will not then forestall
those who have previously passed to their rest; 16 for the Lord
Himself will descend from Heaven with an imperative Summons
sounded by an archangel's Voice and God's Trumpet-call; and
the dead who are united to Christ will rise to Life first; 17
and then we, the living who survive, will, along with them, be
caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we
shall for all time be with the Lord. 18 So encourage each other
with these assurances.
51 But as regards the length of the intervals and the dates
of the occasions to which we refer, Brothers, you do not re-
quire a letter; 2 for you yourselves are fully aware that the Day
of the Lord is to come as unexpectedly as a thief comes at night.
3 When people say, " All is well, all is secure," then their
destruction comes upon them suddenly, as the throes of child-
birth come upon a pregnant woman ; and they will find no way
of escape. 4 But you, Brothers, are not living in Darkness, so
that the Day should overtake you as the daylight overtakes
thieves; 5 for you all belong to the realm of Light and of the
Daytime. We have no connection with Night and Darkness :
6 let us not, then, sleep, like the rest of people, but keep awake
and sober. 7 For it is at night that sleepers sleep, and it
is at night that topers get drunk. 8 But since we, on our
part, belong to the Daytime, let us be sober, having clad our-
selves in Faith and Love like a breastplate, and having put on
the Hope of Salvation like a helmet; 9 because God did not
design us to incur His Wrath but to win Salvation, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us; so that, whether
we are awake in life or sleep in death, we may live together
with Him. n Therefore encourage one another, and elevate
and fortify each other's characters, just as you actually . are
doing.
12 And we beseech you, Brothers, to appreciate those who
I TH. 5. 13—28 51
toil among you, alike by presiding over you in your union with
the Lord, and by giving you admonitions; 13 and regard
them with exceptional affection on account of their work.
Maintain peace among yourselves. 14 We appeal to you,
Brothers, to admonish those who are irregular in the discharge
of their duties; comfort the faint-hearted; lend a helping hand
to the morally weak; be forbearing towards all. 15 See that no
one repays to any one evil for evil, but always follow the kindly
course in regard to one another and all mankind. 16 At all
times be full of joy. 17 Never omit your prayers; 18 under all
circumstances give thanks to God ; for this is His Will for you, as
it is disclosed in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the impulses of
the Spirit; 20 do not be contemptuous of Inspired discourses;
21 yet put them and everything else to the test, holding fast what
is good, 22 and keeping aloof from every form of wickedness.
23 And may God Himself, the Source of Peace, make you per-
fectly holy ; and may each one's spirit, soul, and body be pre-
served in their integrity, free from all blame, agajnst the Coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He \Vho Calls you can be trusted;
and the Purpose of that Call He will also accomplish.
25 Brothers, pray for us. Greet one another with a holy
kiss of concord. 27 I adjure you by the Lord to have this Letter
read to all the Brothers. 28 The Favour of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you.
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
THESSALONIANS
The Second E-pistle to the Thetsalontans seems to have been
written shortly after the First in order to correct some mistaken
inferences (2. 1-12) drawn from a passage in the previous Letter
(4. 13-18) ; and was probably, like the earlier communication, sent
from Corinth in 51, though Ephesus or Antioch may also be sug-
gested (Acts 18. 19. 22). Its authenticity, however, has been some-
what widely suspected, chiefly on the ground of its general resem-
blance to I Thess. (as shown in the footnotes to the Translation),
coupled with the contrast between the two Epistles in respect to the
passages relating to the Day of Judgment (// Th. 2. 1-12; / Th.
4. 13-18). It has been supposed that a later writer wished to
counteract the belief that the initial stages of that Crisis were
already present by insisting that it would not occur until the Appear-
ance of the Antichrist (cf. / Joh. 2. 18), and by seeking to gain
currency for his views about this through an imitation of St. Paul's
admonitions contained in the genuine Letter. But externally it is
quite as well attested as the First Epistle, being quoted by Polycarp
52 II. TH. 1. 1—4
(c. 107), besides being included in Marcion's Canon and the Mura-
tonan Catalogue; whilst the internal grounds for suspicion are not
formidable. For if St. Paul had reason to think that something
said by him was leading to erroneous conclusions, and desired to
preclude these, there would be nothing unnatural in his adding to
the corrections which he desired to convey in a second letter a repeti-
tion of such exhortations and warnings as he had previously used,
and knew to be still needed to meet existing discouragements and
temptations. Indeed, the situation dealt with in II Thess. is quite
explicable from that which is implied in / Thess. It is noteworthy
that in 2. 4 it is assumed that the Temple at Jerusalem is standing.
It has been suggested that, whereas / Thess. seems to have in view
chiefly the Gentile members of the Thessalonian Church, who had
been idolaters (i. 9) and addicted to Gentile vices (4. 3-8), II. Thess.
2. 3 f , with its allusions to the Antichrist, a figure familiar in
Jewish Eschatological speculations, would be more intelligible to
Jews than to Gentiles; and the opinion that it was intended mainly
for the Jewish section of the community finds support in 2. 13, if
the true reading there is " God chose you as the first fruits of His
Harvest " (cf. Acts 17. 4). The messenger carrying the Letter could
indicate whose wants it was specially designed to meet, in spite of
its being addressed tof the whole Church (i. i). It has been argued,
indeed, in view of the Jewish character of the Eschatology in II Th.,
as compared with that of / Th., that the Second Epistle was the
earlier of the two, and that St. Paul's thoughts, in the interval
between the two Letters, had moved away from the Judaistic stand-
point ; and it has been conjectured that II Thess. was written from
Bercea (Acts 17. 10-13). But the interval between the two Letters
must have been too short for any such development in the Apostle's
own views to have taken place as suggested ; and the difference in
the Eschatology seems adequately explained by the supposition that
// Th. had in view the misunderstandings of a particular class in
the Thessalonian Church. The reference in / Th. 4. n to an
admonition about irregularity of conduct need not refer to the
directions given in // Th. 3. 12 : it may equally well allude to
oral warnings (77 Th. 3. 10) before the Apostle left Thessalonica.
1i Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the Church of the
Thessalonians which is united to God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ ; 2 Favour be yours and Peace from God the
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.1
3 We are in duty bound to thank God at all times for you,8
Brothers, — it is fitting to do so — because your faith shows extra-
ordinary development, and the love of each individual amongst
you all towards one another expands more and more. 4 To such
a degree is this the case, that we ourselves express among the
Churches of God our pride in you because of your steadfastness
' Cf. 7. i. i. • Cf. 7. i. a.
II TH. 1. 5—2. 7 53
and faith amid all your persecutions, and the afflictions which
you have to sustain. 5 This constancy of yours is an indication
of what God's just judgment will be, resulting in your being
counted worthy of inclusion in God's Dominion, for the sake of
which you are actually suffering, 6 if it is just in the sight of
God (as it assuredly is) to repay affliction to those who occasion
you affliction, 7 and to grant to you, who suffer under it,
relief with us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from Heaven,
accompanied by His mighty angels, 8 with flaming fire dealing
vengeance to those who are ignorant of God and refuse to give
heed to the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 Such will
pay the penalty of eternal perdition, excluded as they will be
from the presence of the Lord and His glorious Might, 10 when
on that Day He comes to be glorified amid His Hallowed People
for what He has enabled them to be, and to be regarded with
awe amid all who have believed in Him (including yourselves, be-
cause our testimony which was offered to you *proved to be
trustworthy*). IT With this in view we likewise pray at all
times for you, that our God may judge you worthy of the Call
which you received from Him, and may by His Power consum-
mate all the satisfaction which you are finding in goodness, and
every work of yours which is inspired by faith,1 12 in order that
the Self-revelation of our Lord Jesus may be honoured by your
lives, and you honoured by union with Him, according to the
gracious purpose of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
21 Now with respect to the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
of which I have spoken, and our being gathered to meet
Him,2 we beseech you, Brothers, 2 not to let yourselves be swept
hastily away from your good sense by a surge of emotion, or
become excited in consequence of some inspired intimation, or
oral message, or letter (such communications reaching you
ostensibly through us), to the effect that the Day of the Lord is
actually present. 3 Let no one delude you about this in any
way, because it will not dawn unless there has first come the
great Revolt from God, and there has been disclosed that In-
carnation of Sin, the Man doomed to Perdition, 4 who sets him-
self against, and exalts himself over, every Being that is termed
a God, or is an Object of worship; to such an extent that he
attempts to enthrone himself in God's Sanctuary, giving it out
that he himself is God.s 5 Do you not recall that I told you of
this whilst I was still with you? 6 and you are now aware of
the Agency that restrains him, with the result that he is prevented
from being disclosed before his appointed time. 7 The dis-
closure of him, indeed, will not be long delayed. For the secret
power of Lawlessness is already active, though this furtive
activity will continue only until he who now restrains him is
1 Cf. /. i. 3. a Cf. 7. 4. 17. » Cf. Dan. n. 36.
54 II TH. 2. 8—3. 8
removed out of the way. 8 Then, indeed, there will be disclosed
the Violator of all Law, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with
the breath of His lips, and will annihilate by the manifestation
of His Appearing. 9 The coming of that Incarnation of Sin is
to be signified by an outburst of Satan's activity, displayed in
delusive acts of Power of every kind, and Signs and Wonders,
and in every sort of wicked deception for the ruin of those who
are on the way to perdition, 10 because they have not welcomed,
or shown love for, the Truth, which would enable them to attain
Salvation, n And this is the reason why God sends upon them
an active influence which misleads them, causing them to credit
what is false, 12 in order that all who have not believed the
Truth but found satisfaction in wickedness may be brought to
judgment.
13 We, on our part, are in duty bound to thank God at all
times for you, Brothers,1 beloved as you are by the LORD, because
God chose you for Salvation, as the first-fruits of His Harvest,
by the hallowing influence of the Spirit and by faith in the
Truth. 14 It was for this that He called you through the Good
News conveyed by us — for your acquisition of the Glory bestowed
by our Lori Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, Brothers, stand firm,
and hold fast the transmitted instructions which have been given
to you by us either orally or through a Letter. 16 And may
our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father Who loved
us, and gave us, by His Favour, unfailing consolation and good
hope, 17 encourage your resolution, and strengthen it to per-
severe in everything good that you do or say!
31 In conclusion, pray for us, Brothers,2 that the Lord's
Message may speed on its way, and be rendered triumphant
elsewhere, just as it has been among you ; 2 and that we may
be rescued from perverse and wicked men ; for it is not every-
one who accepts the Faith. 3 Trustworthy, however, is the
Lord, Who will strengthen you and guard you from the Wicked
One. 4 And our confidence in you, created by our union with
the Lord, makes us believe that the injunctions which we lay
down you both carry out now, and will carry out in the future.
5 May the LORD direct your minds to dwell on the love mani-
fested by God and the steadfastness shown by the Christ. 6
Once again we, as being commissioned to represent the Lord
Jesus Christ, charge you, Brothers, to keep aloof from every
Brother who is irregular in his conduct,8 in defiance of the
transmitted instruction which you received from us. Such a
one has no excuse. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought
to imitate us,4 because we, when among you, were not irregular
in the discharge of our duties, 8 and did not accept mainten-
ance from anyone without paying for it; but with toil and
> Cf /. i. 2. a Cf. 7. 5. 25. s Cf. A 5. 14. 4 Cf. /. i. 6.
II TH. 3. 9—18 65
laboriousness we worked at our occupation by night and day1
that we might not impose a burden upon any of you. 9 We
did this not because we lack authority to claim free mainten-
ance, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to imitate.
10 For when we were with you, we used to give you this charge,
that, if anyone refuses to work, he must go hungry, n The
reminder is not superfluous. For we hear that there are some
among you who conduct themselves irregularly — not busy workers
but busy meddlers. 12 Such persons, we, united as we are to
the Lord Jesus Christ, charge and exhort to work at their own
business quietly and to support themselves. 13 As for the rest
of you, Brothers, do not flag in doing what is right. 14 If any-
one refuses submission to our Message communicated by this
Letter, take note of that man, and avoid association with him,
that he may feel ashamed ; 1 5 yet do not regard him as an
enemy, but caution him, as still being a Brother. 16. And may
the Lord Himself, the Source of Peace, give you peace at all
times and in all circumstances. The Lord be with you all.
17 This postscript, conveying my kind regards, I, Paul, add
in my own hand : it is the evidence of genuineness in every
Letter of mine. This is my handwriting. 18 The Favour of our
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
THE EPISTLE OF
ST. JAMES
The James with whom the author of the Epistle is traditionally
identified was the eldest of the brethren of the Lord (Mk. 6. 3), these
being either the sons of .Joseph by a marriage prior to that con-
tracted with Mary, or else his children by the latter. The attitude
of Jesus' brethren towards Him, as described in Mk. 3. 21, 31, and
the incident related in Joh. 19. 26, 27, render the first view the more
probable. The book, though in form a Letter, is in character a
Homily.
The external evidence for its authenticity is not strong. It
is not included in the Muratorian Catalogue; and Origen (d. 253
A.D.) is the first of^ Patristic writers to mention, in qualified terms,
its authorship, speaking of it as " the Epistle current as that of
James." It was comprised in the Synac Versions of the N.T. writ-
ings, but not in the Old Latin; and Eusebius ranked it among the
Controverted Books. The long interval between the death of James,
the brother of Jesus, by violence in 62 and the earliest ascription of
the Epistle to him by Origen, together with the other facts just
cited, is a serious difficulty in the way of accepting that ascription
as well grounded ; and the name James (Heb. Jacob) was a common
1 Cf. 7. 2. 9.
56 JAMES, INT.
one (two persons, even among the twelve Apostles, bearing it). On
the other hand, there is earlier attestation than Ongen's to the
existence of the Epistle, if, as some scholars think, use is made of
it in the Shepherd of Hernias (circ. 150 A.D.).
Features in the internal evidence, which have been held to
fortify the objections just considered are (a) the meagre references
to Christ's Person and work (i. i; 2. 1-7; 5. 7-9), and especially the
absence of any allusion to the Resurrection (this being the more
remarkable in view of the statement in / Cor. 15. 7); and (b) the
good quality of the Greek, together with the inclusion, in i. 17, of
an hexameter line (this being thought to be beyond the range of St.
James* literary culture). Moreover, the allusions to wealthy persons
as present in Christian congregations and to the function of " heal-
ing," as discharged by Church officials, have been held to point to a
date much later than St. James' lifetime. Certain parallels between
Jas. and Rom. (collected in the footnotes to the Translation) leave the
issue unaffected, since it is difficult to determine on which side the
priority lies. If the Epistle is really the work of a later writer than
St. James, various dates between 75 and 150 have been suggested
for its origin.
Nevertheless, as regards the resemblances to Rom. there is
nothing impossible in the supposition that St. James came across a
copy of that Epistle, and desiring to counteract an antmomian per-
version of the teaching enforced by St. Paul, wrote this Letter about
60 A.D., for Romans was composed about 56. And the contents of it
furnish one persuasive argument for its authenticity in the occur-
rence of the many similarities in substance, though not in form,
between the ethical admonitions in the Epistle and those of our Lord,
preserved in the Sermon on the Mount : the former look like
reminiscences of the latter before these had been collected and put
on record, or, at least, before the writer of the Epistle had read a
collection of them. The large number of these resemblances (cited
in the footnotes) are best accounted for by the supposition that the
author drew upon his memory of what he had heard from Jesus ; and
the conditions of the case are well met by assuming that the author
was St. James, who, after becoming a Believer, would naturally
treasure in his: mind all that he could recall of the Christ's teaching.
If the Letter proceeds from St. James, the small amount of
Christology contained in it is, in some measure, explicable by the
hypothesis that, in spite of the passages which seem to have in
view certain Pauline statements, he was not really familiar with St.
Paul's Epistles, for it was that Apostle who was the principal formu-
lator of Chnstological doctrine. That there is no allusion to the
imposition upon Gentiles of certain ceremonial restrictions out of
regard for Jewish scruples (Acts 15. 20; 21. 25) is scarcely surpris-
ing, if the Letter was not addressed to Gentiles ; and several features
in it point to this. The writer was a Christian Jew (see 2. 19, 21),
and his Epistle appears to be directed to Jews by race, who were
resident outside Palestine, and who had become Christians, for the
JAMES 1. 1—12 57
opening words are best understood in a literal sense, and not in-
terpreted figuratively, like the expression used in / Pet. i. i. Those
to whom the Letter was sent are assumed to worship in a Synagogue
(2. i) — this being here the more natural meaning of the original
term, and not " meeting " (cf. the compound in Hcb. 10. 25)— and
the Hebrew phrase "LORD of Sabaoth ." ("Hosts") would not be
familiar, or easily intelligible, to Gentiles. It has been conjectured
that the immediate destination of the Epistle was the Church at
Rome ; and it has been thought that the reference in 2. 2 to a wearer
of a gold ring points to the writer having in mind a Roman
Knight, who enjoyed the distinctive privilege of wearing such a ring.
If the book is the production of St. James and its destination
was actually Rome, some date within the last decade of his life
will explain certain circumstances implied in the Epistle, since this
allows time for the expansion of the community, or communities, of
Christians addressed by the writer, and for the development of
their organisation. The interesting suggestion has been made that
the Letter is a Greek version, or interpretation, of what St. James
taught in Aramaic : if so, the knowledge that it was not really penned
by the Apostle was calculated to delay its acceptance by the Church
until a later period.
11 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to the Twelve Tribes among the Dispersion sends
his good wishes.
2 Consider it an occasion for nothing but joy, my Brothers,
whenever you encounter various trials,1 3 knowing that such
testing of your faith develops steadfastness. 4 And let your stead-
fastness attain a finished result, that you may be perfect and
complete, deficient in nothing. 5 If any of you is deficient in
wisdom, he should ask for it from God,a Who gives to all men
generously without demur; and it will be bestowed upon him.
6 But he must ask trustfully, without doubting that he will re-
ceive,3 for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, wind-driven
and tossed about. 7 From the LORD such a person must not think
that he will receive anything, 8 half-hearted man that he is,
vacillating at every turn.
9 A Brother of humble circumstances should exult at the
dignity which is his as a Believer; 10 but a rich Brother should
exult at the humiliation which as a Believer he has to suffer;
because rich men must pass away like the flowers in the herb-
age, ii For when the sun rises, accompanied by the scorching
wind, and parches the herbage, its flowers drop off, and the
charm of its aspect disappears. So rich men, too, in the course
of their prosperous careers, must fade away. 12 Happy is the
man who patiently endures trial,4 because, when he has stood
*Cf. Aft. 5. 10-12. 2C/. Mt. 7. 7 ( = Lk. ii. 9). 8Cf.
Mfc. ii. 24. 4Cf. Mt. 10. 22.
58 JAMES 1. 13—2. 3
the test, he will receive the victor's wreath — true Life — which
has been promised by God to those who love Him.
13 No one, when he is tempted, should plead, " It is by God
that I am tempted " ; for God is Himself incapable of being
tempted by evil, and does not, on His part, tempt anyone else to
evil. 14 Everyone is tempted by his own Desire, being attracted
and lured by the bait offered to him ; 15 then the Desire, through
being gratified, conceives, and gives birth to, Sin ; and Sin, when
grown to maturity, becomes the parent of Death. 16 Do not be
deluded, my beloved Brothers ;
" Every bounteous gift and every perfect endowment " —
these alone have their source from Above, descending as they do
from the Maker of the Luminaries; and with Him there is no
change of phase or obscuration occasioned by turning, as there is
with them. 18 Of set purpose He gave us Spiritual Birth by a
Message imparting Truth, in order that we might be a kind of
spiritual First-fruits among His creatures.
19 You know this, my beloved Brothers. Accordingly every-
one should be quick to hear, slow to talk, slow to anger ; 20 for
rram's anger does not promote the righteousness desired by God.
21 Therefore, laying aside all foulness, and the lengths to which
malice can proceed, welcome in meekness the Divine Message,
which, if you accept it, roots itself in you, and which is able to
save your souls. 22 Show yourselves doers of what is communi-
cated by it and not merely hearers, duping yourselves.1 23 Be-
cause if anyone is merely a hearer of what is communicated,
and not a doer, he is like a man viewing in a mirror the face
with which he was born ; 24 who, just for a moment, has
caught a view of his features, and the next instant has de-
parted, and at once his features have passed from his mind.
25 Whereas he who peers into the Perfect Law — the Law
that ensures our true liberty — and continues to give atten-
tion to it, not merely listening to what it enjoins and then for-
getting it, but actively carrying it out, will be happy in what
he does. 26 If any one fancies that he observes the duties of
religion, yet fails to curb his tongue (thereby deceiving his
conscience), that man's observance of religion is unreal. 27 The
observance of religion which God deems pure and stainless is
this — to shew care for orphans and widows in their affliction,
and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the world.2
21 My Brothers, do not try to combine the Faith in our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the true glory of God, with acts
of deference to mere rank or wealth. 2 For if there enters into
your synagogue a man wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine
clothes, and also a needy person shabbily clad; 3 and you pay
attention to the wearer of the fine clothes, and say, " Here is
1 Cf. Mt. 7. 21 ( = Lk. 6. 46). 2 Cf. Mt. 25. 34-40.
JAMES 2. 4—23 59
a comfortable seat for you," whilst to the needy person you
say, " You must stand there," or " You can sit below my foot-
stool," 4 have you not inwardly wavered from your own pro-
fessed principles, and proved yourselves judges influenced by
wrongful considerations? 5 Listen, my beloved Brothers : was it
not God Who chose those who are esteemed needy by the world to
be rich in faith and heirs of the Dominion which He promised to
those who love Him?1 6 But you — you have done dishonour to
the needy man. Is it not the rich who domineer over you, and
are they not the men who drag you into Law Courts? 7 Is it
not they who defame the noble Title pronounced over you at
Baptism2 8 If, indeed, you carry out towards all the sovereign
Law, as the Scripture bids, " Thou must love thy neighbour as
much as thyself,"2 you do well; 9 but if you pay deference to
mere rank or wealth, you commit sin, and are convicted by the
Law as offenders. 10 For whoever, whilst keeping the Law in
general, yet makes a slip in respect of a single commandment, is
guilty of breaking the Law as a whole, u For He Who said,
44 Do not be guilty of adultery," likewise said, " Do not commit
murder." And if you individually are not guilty of adultery, but
do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the Law,
all the same. 12 You should all speak and act as men ought
to do who are to be judged under a Law that promotes true
liberty. 13 For Judgment will be pitiless to him who himself
shows no pity.3 It is Pity only that can boast of triumph over
Judgment.
14 What good is it, my Brothers, for a man to claim to have
faith, if he has no corresponding deeds to show? Can such faith
save him? 15 If there should be a Brother or a Sister scantily
clad, and lacking the day's food, 16 and one of you should say
to them, " Go, and God bless you : get yourself warmed and
have a good meal," without providing for their bodily needs,
what good is that? 17 So, too, faith, if it has no corresponding
deeds to show, is essentially a dead thing. 18 Why, any one
will say to you, " So you have faith, you tell me, just as I have
deeds ! Then give me proof of your faith apart from deeds, if
you can; and I by my deeds will give you proof of my faith."
19 You, for instance, believe there is one God : in thus believing
you do well, so far; though even the demons believe the same
and shudder in consequence. 20 Do you want to be convinced,
pretentious man, that faith apart from deeds is futile? 21 Well,
take the instance of our ancestor Abraham ; was it not in con-
sequence of his deeds that he stood right with God, after he had
offered up his son Isaac on the altar?4 22 You see that his
faith was co-operating with his deeds, whilst by his deeds
his faith was brougnt to perfection ; 23 and there was
»Cf. Lk. 6. 20. 2 Lev. 19. 18 8 Cf. Mt. 5. 7 ; 6. 15.
4 Gen. 22.
60 JAMES 2. 24—3. 15
substantiated the declaration of Scripture, " Abraham reposed
faith in God, and this ^as counted as giving him a right stand-
ing with God,"1 and he was called " The friend of God."a 24
From this you can all see that a man gains a right standing with
God in consequence of the deeds he does, and not merely in con-
sequence of the faith he professes. 25 Likewise, was it not by
deeds that Rahab the harlot gained a right standing with God?
was it not because she had harboured the spies when they came
to Jericho, and got them away again by a different route?*
26 Deeds, then, are essential to a living faith. For just as the
body, apart from spirit is a dead thing, so faith, too, apart from
deeds, is a dead thing.
3i See that few of you become teachers, my Brothers, know-
ing, as you do, that we teachers shall be judged by a stricter
standard than other people. 2 For we all make many slips; and
anyone who in speech escapes slips is a finished character, able
to curb his whole body as well as his tongue. 3 If we put the
horses' bits into their mouths to make them obey us, it is the
movements of their whole bodies also that we sway. 4 Think
of the sea-going vessels, too : big though they are, and driven by
violent winds, yet they are turned -by a very small rudder in the
direction that the aim of the steersman determines. 5 So, too,
the tongue, though an insignificant organ, can boast of great
achievements. Think ! How small a fire can set in a blaze the
greatest of forests ! 6 The tongue, too, is a fire. The tongue
among our members proves itself a means of putting a fair com-
plexion on wickedness; it is an agency that contaminates the
whole social Body, and it sets alight the circling round of human
existence, being itself set alight by Hell. 7 For whereas every
species, alike of beasts and birds and reptiles and sea-creatures,
is tameable and has been tamed by human kind, 8 the tongue
no human being can tame ; it is a restless plague ; it is full of
deadly venom. 9 With it we bless the LORD and Father, and
with it we curse men who have been made in the likeness of
God ! 10 From the same lips there issue blessing and cursing !
This should not be, my Brothers, n Can a spring from the
same outlet gush with both fresh and brackish water? 12 Can
a fig tree, my Brothers, produce olives, or a vine figs?4
Assuredly not : neither can salt water produce fresh. 13 Who
among you claims to be wise and well-informed? To prove
himself such, he should be able to point, with the modesty of
true wisdom, to his deeds, the outcome of right conduct. 14 But
if you harbour in your hearts bitter jealousy and selfishness, do
not boast as though you were wiser than others, or make false
assertions contrary to the truth. 15 This is not the kind of
1 Gen. 15. 6. 2 II Ch. 20. 7; Is. 41. 8; verbally divergent.
3 Josh. 2. 4 Cf. Lk. 6. 44.
JAMES 3. 16—4. 13 61
wisdom which descends from Above, but is that which belongs
to the earth, originating in man's animal nature and resembling
that of demons ; 16 for where there are jealousy and selfishness,
there is moral disorder and every base action. 17 But the wis-
dom from Above is first, pure, next, peaceable, considerate, con-
ciliatory, abounding in pity and a harvest of kindly acts, unfalter-
ing in purpose, free from pretence. 18 And a harvest of
righteousness is sown in peacefulness for the peace-makers to
reap. l
41 Whence originate wars and fightings among you? Do
they not derive tfceir origin from this source — from your
cravings for various pleasures, which, having their seat in your
members, wage a campaign against all rivals? 2 You desire
something and fail to get it, so you commit murder. And you
are envious, but are unable to obtain what you want ; so you
fight and war. You fail to get what you want because you do
not make request of God. 3 Or you do ask of Him, but fail
to receive, because you make request with a wrong aim, that
you may spend what you seek upon your pleasures. 4 You
wantons ! Do you not know that friendliness with the world
means hostility to God?2 Whosoever, then, wishes to be friendly
with the world proves himself hostile to God. 5 Or do you think
that the Scripture is devoid of meaning when it declares, " He
yearneth jealously for the possession of the Spirit which He
hath planted in us, begrudging it to any other"?3 6 And He
gives greater favour in proportion as He finds greater humility.
Therefore it is declared, ** God resisteth the proud; but on the
humble He bestoweth favour."4 7 Submit, then, to God : with-
stand the Devil, and he will fly from you. 8 Draw near to God,
and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners ;
and purify your motives, you half-hearted men. q Feel unhappy
over your sins, and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be
converted into mourning, and your mirth into dejection. Humble
yourselves before God and He will exalt you.5 n Do not,
Brothers, speak disparagingly of one another. He that speaks
disparagingly of a Brother, or passes judgment upon his Brother,
speaks disparagingly of Law and passes judgment upon Law —
the royal Law of Love; and if you pass judgment upon Law,
you are not a doer of what Law enjoins, but a judge of it. 12
One, and One alone, is Lawgiver and Judge — He Who is able
to save and to destroy. But you — who are you, who pass judg-
ment upon your neighbour?
13 Come now, you who say, " To-day or to-morrow we will
journey to this or that town, and spend a year there, and trade
1 Cf. Mt. 5. 9. 2 Cf Mt. 6 24 3 The source of the passage
is uncertain 4 Prov. 3. 34. 5 Cf. Mt. 23. 12 ( = ££.
14. 11).
62 JAMES 4. 14-6. 14
and make money," 14 though you are mortal men, who do
not know what the morrow will bring. For what is the nature
of your life? You are but a vapour, which appears for a while
and then disappears. 15 You talk like this, instead of saying,
" If the LORD wills, we shall live and do this or that." 16. As
it is, your arrogant pretensions cause you to be boastful : all
such boastfulness is wicked. 17 Therefore for one who knows
how to do what is right and fails to do it, his failure is a sin.1
51 Come now, you rich, weep and howl at your approaching
miseries ;2 2 your wealth has decayed ; your garments, which
you have hoarded, are moth-eaten ; 3 your gold and silver have
grown rusted; and the rust of them will be evidence against
you of selfish greed, and it will consume your flesh : to all in-
tents and purposes it is Fire that you have treasured up for
yourselves in these Last days. 4 Listen ! the pay of your
labourers who have reaped your lands — pay which has been
wrongfully withheld by you — is calling out in protest to God;
and the outcries of your reapers have penetrated into the ears
of the LORD of Sabaoth [" Hosts "]. 5 You have fared luxuri-
ously on earth and lived profligately; you have pampered your
appetites in a day of approaching slaughter. 6 You have con-
demned, you have murdered, the righteous; he offers to you no
resistance.
7 Be patient, then, Brothers, until the Coming of the Lord.
Think! The husbandman has to wait for the precious harvest
of the soil, and to be patient over it, until it receives the autumn
and the spring rains. 8 So you, too, must be patient, and brace
your courage, because the Coming of the Lord has drawn nearer.
9 Do not complain of one another, Brothers, lest you incur
judgment. Mark ! the Judge is already standing before the
doors.3 lo Take, Brothers, as an example of ill-treatment,
coupled with steadfastness under it, the Prophets, who spoke
as the LORD'S representatives, n We pronounce happy (do we
not?) those who endured. You have heard of Job's steadfast-
ness, and have seen the termination which the LORD put to his
troubles, because very tender-hearted and compassionate is the
Lord. 12 But before all else, my Brothers, do not swear an
oath, either by Heaven, or by the earth, and do not use any
other oath; but when you mean " Yes," your speech should be
simply " Yes," and when you mean " No," your speech should
be simply '* No," lest you incur judgment.4 13 If any among
you is in trouble, he should offer a prayer; if any is in cheerful
mood, he should sing a melody. 14 If any among you is in-
firm, he should summon the Presbyters of the Church, and they
should pray over him, anointing him with oil and making use
* Cf. Lk. 12. 47. 2 Cf. 7*. 6. 24. * Cf. Mt. 7. i. « Cf.
Mt. 5. 34-37-
JAMES 5. 15—20 03
of the Name of the Lord;1 15 and the prayer offered in faith
will restore the sufferer to health, and the Lord will raise him
from his sick-bed; and if he has committed sins, they will be
forgiven him. 16 Confess, then, your sins one to another and
pray for one another, that you may be healed. A righteous
man's supplication has much power with God, if it be earnestly
offered. 17 Elijah, a man of passions similar to ours, prayed
fervently that there might be no rain ; and there fell on the earth
no rain for two years and a half. 18 And he prayed again,
and the sky shed rain, and the soil yielded its harvest.2 ig My
Brothers, if any among you should be led astray from the Truth,
and someone should bring him back again, 20 be sure that he
who brings back a sinner from his erring course will save that
man's soul from death, and veil from God's sight a multitude of
sins.
THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
GALATIANS
The Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Galatians is not
generally questioned, for though its external attestation is not so
strong as that of some others of the Pauline Letters, it was included
by Marcion in his Canon, and appears to have been read by Poly-
carp ; whilst its internal character seems to put its authenticity
beyond doubt. But there is much dispute concerning the people to
whom it was sent, and still more about the date of it, and the place
whence it was despatched.
The name " Galatians " is ambiguous. It can designate, both
ethnically and politically, the people of a district constituting the
northern half of the Roman Province of Galatia, which (since about
230 B.C.) had been occupied by a body of Celtic immigrants. These
were descendants of one of three hordes who, in the fourth and
third centuries B.C., left their native Gaul, and invaded southern
Europe. The earliest penetrated into Italy, routed the Romans at
the Allia in 390, and burnt Rome. The second advanced into Greece
and attacked Delphi. The third, moving to the S E. of Europe,
crossed the Hellespont, and established themselves in the western
parts of Asia Minor about 275 B.C. Some forty years later, how-
ever, they were driven by king Attalus I of Pergamum into the
interior of the peninsula, where, dispossessing the previous Phrygian
i Cf. Mk. 6. 13. a / Kgs. ch. 17. 18. With 5. 17 contrast / Kgs.
1 8. i.
64 GAT,., INT.
inhabitants, they formed the kingdom of the Galatae, which retained
its independence until 25 B.C., when it was absorbed by the Roman
Empire. But these Celts were not the only people who could be
called Galatians. The term was also applicable politically to the
southern half of the Roman Province, of which the population was
partly Phrygian and partly Lycaonian, and of which the principal
towns were Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. No
decisive conclusion concerning the sense which it bears in this
Kpistle can be drawn from St. Paul's usage, for though he commonly
employed regional terms in the political sense (such as Achaia, Asia,
Macedonia, these designating Roman Provinces), he sometimes made
use of local terms which did not denote " provinces " (e.g. Dal-
matia). But the Apostle certainly engaged in an evangelistic mission
in Southern Galatia, as appears from the account of his Journeys in
Acts; for Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe are definitely mentioned as
having been twice visited by him (14. 1-20; 16 1-4); whereas there
is no unambiguous record of his having gone to any locality in
Norfhetf Galatia (such as Pessmus, Ancyra or Tavium). Since,
however, he is described as having, in company with Silas, passed
through Derbe and Lystra on his Second Missionary Journey, and
then through " the Phrygian and Galatic district " (Acts 16. 6), it
has been inferred by many scholars that this district was distinct
from the southern part of the province, and so must designate
Northern Galatia (as having been in historical succession both
Phrygian and Galatian). And it has been pointed out that, since
there is no mention in Acts of the establishment of the Churches in
Syria and Cilicia mentioned in Acts 15. 41, not much weight need
be attached to its silence about the founding of Churches in the
northern districts of the Galatian province. Nevertheless, the phrase
in Acts 1 6. 6 (quoted above) can equally well describe the western
part of South Galatia, which was Phrygian ethnically and Galatic
politically, in contrast to the Eastern, which was Lycaonian ethnic,
ally and Galatic politically. It may reasonably be assumed that
when the two missionaries felt themselves inhibited from evan-
gelizing the Province of Asia, they were on the point of crossing
into it from near Iconium, and when they abandoned their design,
they kept within the Province of Galatia for a little while longer,
directing their course towards Pisidian Antioch. And that the
Epistle was really addressed to Gentile converts in South Galatia
is further rendered probable by the allusion in it to Barnabas (2. 13),
who accompanied St. Paul on his First Missionary Journey, through
Iconium, Lystra and Derbe (Acts 13. 50, 51), but not on his Second
(Acts 15. 39, 40), in the course of which the visit to North Galatia
is supposed to have occurred. In these circumstances reference to
Barnabas in a Letter to Northern Galatia is not so readily in-
telligible (though here, too, it may be argued that Barnabas is
mentioned in a Letter sent to Corinth (/ Cor. 9. 6), a city which
there is no evidence that he had ever visited). Moreover, the two
Galatian representatives named in 7 Cor. 16. 3 both belonged to
GAL. 1. 1, 2 65
Southern Galatia (Acts 20. 4). The balance of probability thus
seems in favour of the view that the destination of the Epistle was
South Galatia.
As regards the time and place of its origin, it appears likely
that two journeys to Galatia (4. 13) had taken place prior to its
composition. If so, the dates fell probably within the years 47-48
and 49-52 respectively. As the Apostle travelled through Macedonia
to Greece, after visiting the Galatians for the second time, the Letter
could have been written from some town in Europe (e.g. Corinth),
but since he sends no " kind remembrances " from any travelling
companions (such as those mentioned in Acts 15. 40; 16. 1-3), it is a
more plausible inference that it was written after his return to Asia
in 52, perhaps from Syrian Antioch. Inasmuch as there is no
allusion to the Council of Jerusalem (Ads 15. 1-29), which dealt with
the subject that occupies the writer's thoughts, and which, according
to the chronology of Acts, was held after St. Paul's return from his
First Missionary Journey,1 it has been concluded by several scholars
that the Letter was despatched from Antioch in 48 (Acfs 14. 26, 27),
or in the course of the journey thence to Jerusalem (Acts 15 2, 3);
and so is the earliest of all the Pauline Epistles But there is so much
difficulty in harmonizing St Luke's account of the Council in Acts
with St. Paul's own statement in Gal. that it is not improbable that
St. Luke has ante-dated the Council. The assignment of the Epistle
to 52, shortly after the Second Journey, rather than to 48, shortly
after the First Journey, explains best the charge against the Apostle
that he advocated circumcision (15 n), for it was on the Second
Journey that he circumcised Timothy (Acts 16. 3). Another view
of the date is that Gal. was not composed until the Apostle had
started on his Third Missionary Journey ("52-56), this conclusion
resting upon the similarity between it and Romans2 (written about
the beginning of 56 (p. 126)). If the Galatian Christians to whom
the Letter was sent lived in Northern Galatia, a date during, or
after, the Third Journey becomes necessary ; two visits to the N.
part of the province are then assumed to be implied in Acts 16. 6
and 18. 23. If 55 or 56 was really the year when the Letter was
written, the place of origin may have been Ephesus, where the
author arrived after leaving Galatia for the second time (Acts 19. i),
or possibly some town in Greece, such as Corinth (Acts 20. 2; cf.
Rom. 16. i).
11 I, Paul, an Apostle (deriving my commission not from any
human authority, or through any human agent, but through
Jesus Christ and God the Father, Who raised Him to Life from
among dead men) 2 and all the Brothers who are together with
1 In this case the word in Gal. 4. 13, which can be rendered by
the first (or fhe former) time, must be translated formerly, as
in Joh. 6. 62.
1 Cf. Gal. 4. 6, 7 with Rom. 8. 14-17 ; Gal. 3. 6-9 with Rom. 4. 9-13.
66 GAL. 1. 3—22
me, to the Churches of Galatia : 3 Favour be yours and Peace
from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who for
our sins surrendered Himself to death, in order that He might
deliver us from the present wicked Age, in accordance with the
will of our God and Father, 5 to Whom be Glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
6 I am surprised that from Him Who Called you, through
the Favour bestowed in Christ, you are so quickly moving away,
in order to listen to " Good News " which diverges from any that
I have communicated to you, and is not another version of the
same. 7 This conduct implies nothing else but that those who
are disturbing your minds and wish to distort the Good News of
the Christ are, in your opinion, persons of importance, and
must be listened to ' 8 Not for a moment ' Even if we our-
selves, or an angel from Heaven, should impart to you ** Good
News " contradicting the Good News which we previously im-
parted, let God's Curse be upon him ! 9 As we have said before,
so I say again now : — if any one communicates to you " Good
News " contradicting that which you have received, let God's
Curse be upon him 1 10 To say that I endeavour to conciliate
people by compromise is false. By what I have just said is it
men's approval that I am trying to win, or is it God's? or am I
seeking to satisfy men? Why, if it were men that I am still
trying to satisfy, I should be no bond-servant of Christ, n For
I want you to understand, Brothers, that the Good News which
was communicated by me does not rest on human authority,
12 for I neither received it from men (any more than other
Apostles), nor was I taught it by a human instructor, but I had
it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard
of my proceedings some time ago, when I was an adherent of
Judaism — how I kept persecuting the Church of God and making
havoc of it with the utmost rigour; 14 and how in my adhesion
to Judaism I was in advance of many of my contemporaries
among my own race, far outstripping them from the start in
zeal for our ancestral traditions. 15 But when He, Who from
my very birth set me apart and Called me through His Favour,
was pleased 16 to reveal His Son within my heart that I might
impart the Good News about Him among the Gentiles, then
at once, instead of conferring with any human being, 17 or
going up to Jerusalem to visit those who had been Apostles pre-
vious to myself, I went away into Arabia for retirement and
meditation, and from thence I returned again to Damascus. 18
Next, two years afterwards, I went up to Jerusalem to interview
Kephas ; and I stayed with him a fortnight ; 19 but I saw no
other of the Apostles besides, except James the brother of the
Lord. (20 In what I am writing to you, mark 1 it is before God
that I tell you that I am not lying). 21 Next, I went to the
regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 But my features remained un-
known to the Churches in Judaea which are united to Christ;
GAL. 1. 23—2. 13 67
23 only they were continually being told " that he who formerly
persecuted us now communicates as Good News the Faith in
Christ of which he formerly used to make havoc "; 24 and they
found, in what I had become, and in what I was doing, an
occasion for glorifying God.
21 Next, after an interval of thirteen years from the time
when I became a Believer, I again went up to Jerusalem
with Barnabas, taking along with me Titus also (2 it was in
obedience to a Revelation that I went); and to those who were
there I submitted the Good News which I am accustomed to
proclaim among the Gentiles (though it was only privately to
the persons of reputation that I submitted it), for fear lest my
efforts should prove to be in the future, or had been in the past,
futile. 3 But even Titus, who was along with me at the time,
in spite of his being a Greek, and consequently uncircumctsed,
was not compelled to be circumcised. 4 There was a risk that
he might be, for the satisfaction of the false Brothers w'ho had
covertly got admission into the Church — men who had slipped in
to spy out our liberty which we possess through our union with
Christ Jesus, in order that they might enslave us again to the
Jewish Law. 5 But to them we did not give way, by such sur-
render as they demanded, even for a single minute, in order
that the essence of the Good News might, so far as you were
concerned, continue unimpaired. 6 And from those who have a
reputation of being men of importance — it is of no moment to
me what standing they once enjoyed ; God does not show regard
for rank or dignity — to me, I say, those who enjoy a high reputa-
tion made no addition to what I had previously taught; 7 on
the contrary, since they saw that I was entrusted by God with
the Good News for communication to the Uncircumcised, just as
Peter was entrusted with the Good News for communication to
the Circumcised (8 for He Who had empowered Peter to dis-
charge an Apostleship to the Circumcised had empowered me
also to discharge an Apostleship to the Gentiles); 9 and since
they recognized the Favour that had been bestowed upon me,
James and Kephas and John, who have the reputation of being
buttresses of the Church, gave to me and to Barnabas pledges
of fellowship, with the understanding that we, on our part,
should go to the Gentiles, and they, on their part, to the Cir-
cumcised, 10 only stipulating that we should keep in mind the
wants of the needy amongst the latter — the very duty which I,
without any pressure, was anxious to fulfil. 11 But when Kephas
came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, because he
was deserving of censure. 12 For before certain persons came
thither from James, he used to take meals in company with
Gentile Believers; but when these persons came, he began to
withdraw and to keep aloof, fearing the strictures of the con-
verts from among the Circumcised. 13 The rest of the Jewish
68 GAL. 2. 14—3. 6
members of the Church there also dissembled their real con-
victions, as he did; so that even Barnabas was led away by
their double-dealing. 14 So when I observed that they were
not walking in line with the Truth conveyed by the Good News,
I said to Kephas in front of them all, " If you, though a Jew
by origin, have been living as Gentiles live, and not as Jews
live, how comes it that you are putting pressure upon the Gentile
Believers to live as Jews?" 15 We, though being by birth Jews
and not " sinful " Gentiles (to use the Judaizers' own term).
16 yet, because we know that no one ever stands right with God
by doing works prescribed by Law, but only through faith in
Christ Jesus, — we, too, I say, have, like the Gentiles, reposed faith
in Christ Jesus, in order that we may stand right with God in con-
sequence of faith in Christ, and not in consequence of doing works
prescribed by Law, because by doing works prescribed by Law no
human being will stand right with God. 17 But if we, by seeking
to stand right with God solely through union with Christ, are, as
your present attitude implies, discovered to be " sinful " like the
Gentiles, must we conclude that Christ is a promoter of sin?
Assuredly not. 18 For only if I readmit the authority of the
ordinances which I previously treated as null and void, do I
present myself in the light of a transgressor. 19 As it is, in my
own case it was through experience of the Law, and my in-
ability to satisfy its requirements, that 1 became dead to the
claims of the Law, in order that I might become alive to the
claims of God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ ; and it is
no longer I that am alive, but Christ Who lives in me ; and
the Life which I now lead in this physical body, I lead through
the faith which I have in the Son of God, Who loved me and
gave Himself up to death for me. 21 I refuse to nullify the
Favour bestowed by God, as I should do by hoping to stand right
with Him through carrying out what is prescribed in the Law;
for if a right relation to God were obtainable through Law, then
Christ's death was superfluous.
31 O senseless Galatians, by whom have you been bewitched
— you, before whose eyes " Jesus Christ Crucified " has
been vividly depicted? 2 This one fact I want to ascertain
from you : Was it in consequence of doing the works prescribed
by Law, or of listening to, and placing faith in, God's Message,
that you received the Spirit? 3 Are you so ^senseless as to
retrace your course9 Having begun with what is spiritual,
are you now ending up with what is physical? 4 Are all these
experiences of yours to go for nothing (if they are really to
go for nothing)? 5 Does He who supplies the Spirit to you so
richly, and performs among you exceptional acts of Power, do so
in consequence of vour carrying out works pi escribed by Law, or
in consequence of your listening to, and placing faith in, God's
Message? 6 Is it not true of you, as it was true of Abraham^
GAL. 3. 7—20 69
" He reposed faith in God, and this was counted as giving him
a right standing with God?"1
7 Be sure, then, that those who depend on faith are the true
descendants of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that
God regards the Gentiles as standing right with Him in conse-
quence of their faith, imparted beforehand the Good News to
Abraham in these terms, " All nations shall be blessed in Thee."3
9 So it is all those who depend on faith that are blessed along
with Abraham, the possessor of faith. 10 For all who depend
on doing works prescribed by Law are exposed to a curse,
if they fail to fulfil the whole Law, for it is written, " Cursed is
everyone who fails to abide by, and carry out, all that is written
in the Book of the Law."3 u And that no one stands right
with God through obedience to Law is evident from this, that
14 the righteous in consequence of having faith shall live";4
12 whereas the Law does not proceed on the principle of faith,
but on the principle that *' He who has carried out the works
prescribed shall live in consequence."5 13 Christ, at His own
cost, delivered us from the curse of the Law, having for our
sake submitted to its curse (because it is written, " Cursed is
everyone who hangs upon a gibbet ")6 14 in order that upon
the Gentiles there might come in Jesus Christ the blessing pro-
nounced upon Abraham, and that we all, through our faith,
might receive the promised Spirit.
15 Brothers, I will illustrate my meaning by human practice.
A deed of gift, though it is only a man's, when once it has been
executed, no one nullifies or supplements. 16 Now it was to
Abraham and to his " Posterity " that God's Promises, equivalent
to a deed of gift, were made. God does not use the plural
" posterities," implying a number of persons, but the singular,
" posterity "— " to Thy Posterity"; and this means Christ. 17
Now my contention is this, that an engagement, by which God
had previously bound Himself to bestow something uncondi-
tionally, the Law, that came into existence four hundred and
thirty years later, cannot invalidate, so as to render the Promise
void. 18 For if the acquisition of an inheritance depends upon
the fulfilment of Legal obligations, it no longer depends upon an
unconditional Promise ; but on Abraham God graciously bestowed
it by a Promise. 19 What, then (/ shall be asked), was the pur-
pose of the Law? It was added later to provoke offences, until
the Posterity, for Whom the Promises were meant, should come ;
and it was delivered through the agency of angels, by the in-
strumentality of an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary is a
go-between where there is more than one party, whereas there
is no place for such in an engagement made by one party only,
1 Gen. 15. 6. a Gen. 12. 3; verbally divergent. 3 Deut. 27.
26; verbally divergent. 4 Hab. 2. 4. 5 Lev. 18. 5;
verbally divergent. 6 Dt. 21. 23; verbally divergent.
70 GAL. 3. 21-4. 8
and God, Who gave a Promise to Abraham, is only One. 21
Does it follow, then, from this, that the Law is in conflict with
God's Promise? Assuredly not. The two were designed for
different ends. For if there had been given to men a Law cap-
able of imparting Spiritual Life, a right standing with God
would have been really attained through obedience to Law. 22
But the Scripture represents the whole world as included under
the condemnation deserved by sin,1 in order that what was pro-
mised might be given, in consequence of Faith in Jesus Christ,
to those who have faith.
23 But before there came Faith in Christ, we Jews were kept
in ward under Law (confined within the restrictions that are
imposed by a legal code), pending the time when Faith in Christ
was to be revealed. 24 So the Law took charge of us for Christ
(like an attendant-slave who takes charge of his master's son,
to conduct the boy to school), that we might eventually stand
right with God in consequence of having faith. 25 But now
that Faith in Christ has come, we are no longer in the charge
of such an attendant. 26 And this\ is true of all of you, for you
are all, through your faith, sons of God in union with Christ
Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into union with
Christ, have become endued with Christ's Spirit. There sub-
sists now no distinction between Jew and Greek, between bond-
man and freeman, between male and female. For you are all
One in union with Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's,
then you are Abraham's Posterity, heirs, in virtue of God's
Promise to him, of what was thereby assured.
41 Now, what I maintain is that the heir, so long as he is
a child, has no more independence than a bond-servant,
though he is the eventual owner of all the property, 2 but is
under guardians and trustees until the date of his coming of age,
previously fixed by his father, is reached. 3 So we, too, when
we were children, so to speak, were in bondage to the celestial
Spirits ruling the heavenly bodies in the material world,
that regulate the seasons prescribed in the Law for religious
observance; 4 but when the appointed interval had fully ex-
pired, God sent on a mission His Son, born of a woman, born
subject to Law, 5 in order that the Son, at His own cost,
might liberate those who were subject to Law, with a view to
our receiving the standing of adopted sons. 6 And as proof that
you are sons, God has sent forth into our hearts the Spirit of
His Son, that cries to God " Abba " (" Father "). 7 So you
are each no longer a bond-servant but a son ; and if a son, then
an heir also, through God's adoption of you.
8 At that time, however, when you were ignorant of God,
you were in slavery to " gods " that by nature are not gods at
i Ps. 142. 2, Sept. ( = 143- 2» Heb.).
GAL. 4. 9—27 71
all; 9 but now, since you have come to know God, or rather
have become objects of God's knowledge and consequently of
His care, how is it that you are reverting to the feeble and
poverty-stricken Spirits, ruling the heavenly bodies, to whom
you desire, (it would seem) once again to be in slavery. 10 You
keep with strictness daily and monthly and seasonal and yearly
festivals, n I begin to fear that the toil I have spent upon you
has been thrown away.
12 Take up my position, I entreat you ; because I once occu-
pied yours, Brothers. / have nothing to complain of on your
Part. You have done me no wrong; on the contrary, you have
shown me much kindness. 13 You know that it was owing to
a physical malady that, on the former of my two visits to you,
I imparted to you the Good News; 14 and though my physical
condition was a trial to you, it did not evoke your contempt
or disgust : instead, I was received by you as an angel of God,
or as Christ Jesus might have been. 15 What, then, has be-
come of your self-congratulations on having had such Good News
imparted through me? For I bear you witness that, had it been
possible and necessary, you would have gouged out your eyes
and given them to me. 16 So I have become your enemy
through being candid with you, have I? 17 These fahe teachers
make much of you, not from honourable motives, but from a
wish to exclude you from the privileges granted by Christ, in
order that you may make much of them, as though they alone
could admit you to such privileges. 18 It is creditable, I know,
for you to be made much of, if on honourable conditions, at all
times, and not merely by me when I am present with you, 19
my dear children, with whom, as with unborn babes, I am
once more in travail, until there has been formed in you a
likeness to Christ. 20 I have been wishing I were with you
now, and might adopt a different tone, because I am bewildered
about you.
21 Tell me, you who want to be under Law, do you not
listen to what the Law says? 22 For it is recorded in it that
Abraham had two sons, one by the serving-maid, and one by the
free-woman.1 23 But whereas the son by the serving-maid was
born in the ordinary course of nature, the son by the free-woman
was born in consequence of God's Promise. 24 This narrative
may be understood allegorlcally. For these women represent
two covenants. One covenant, originating at Mount Sinai,
bears offspring for bondage? and the woman representing it is
Hagar. 25 For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, where the Hag-
rites dwelt; and corresponds to the Jerusalem that exists at the
present day; for the latter, with her children, is in spiritual
bondage. 26 But the Jerusalem that is Above is spiritually
free, and it is of us that she is Mother. 27 For it is written :—
1 Gen. 16. 4; 21. 2.
72 GAL. 4. 28—5. 13
" Be cheerful-hearted, them barren, that bearest not;
Break forth into joyful shouting, thou that travailest not;
Because more numerous are the children of the solitary woman
than those of her that hath a husband."1
28 Now you, Brothers, are, like Isaac, children owing existence
to God's Promise. 29 But as in that earlier time he who was
born in the ordinary course of nature persecuted him who was
born through the power of the Divine Spirit, so it is now. 30
But what does the Scripture say? " Expel the serving-ma'id
and her son, for the son of the serving-maid shall not share the
inheritance with the son of the free- woman."2 31 Wherefore,
Brothers, we are children of no serving-maid but of the free-
woman.
51 It was for the enjoyment of freedom that Christ liberated
us. Stand firm, then, and do not again be held fast by a yoke
of bondage
2 See, it is I, Paul, who tell you that, if you allow yourselves
to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I once
more solemnly assure every man who allows himself to be cir-
cumcised that he incurs the obligation of carrying out the whole
Law. 4 You, who seek to stand right with God by observance of
Law, have become sundered from Christ : you have excluded
yourselves from the Divine Favour. 5 But that is not the case
with us. For it is through the influence of the Spirit, as the
consequence of faith, that we look to stand right with God. 6
For where there is union with Christ, neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision is of any moment, but only faith working through
love. 7 You were running the spiritual race gallantly : who
blocked your way, preventing you from being faithful to facts?
8 The persuasive reasoning which has induced you to yield com-
pliance to these false teachers does not originate from Him Who
Calls you. 9 The influence of the^e men i.\ like yeast, and " A
little yeast causes a whole batch of dough to ferment." 10 Yet
for my part, I feel confidence in the Lord as regards you, that
you will continue to retain the same attitude which you adopted
before : he who is disquieting you, whoever he may be, will
have to sustain the doom which he has incurred.
ii / am inconsistent, you say, and had Timothy circumcised.
Well, Brothers, if (as you imply) I myself still proclaim sthe
necessity of circumcision, why am I still a victim of persecution
by the Jews? 12 Apparently the obstacle to our harmony occa-
sioned by my previous insistence on the Cross as the only means
of Salvation is removed ! I wish that those who are unsettling
you would proceed from circumcision to self-mutilation !
13 As for you, Brothers, it was for the enjoyment of freedom
that you were Called by God; only do not turn your freedom
1 7s. 54. i. 2 Gen. 21. 10; adapted.
GAL. 5 14—6. 8 73
into an opening for the indulgence of your fleshly nature, but in
love serve one another. By such mutual service you can recon-
cile Freedom and the Law. 14 For the entire Law is com-
pletely summarized in a single sentence. " Thou must love thy
neighbour as much as thyself."1 15 But if, instead, you are
biting and devouring one another, take care that you are not
annihilated by one another. 16 So I say, Let your conduct be
controlled by the Spirit, and then you will not gratify the cravings
of your fleshly nature. 17 For the flesh has cravings opposed
to the yearnings of the Spirit, and the Spirit has yearnings opposed
to the cravings of the flesh ; for these are antagonistic one to the
other, so that you are in a condition of inward anarchy, and what
you wish to do you cannot carry out. 18 Hut, if you arc swayed
by the Spirit, you are not under Law. 19 Now the deeds of the
fleshly nature are obvious, such as sexual immorality, unclean-
ness, debauchery, 20 idolatry, sorcery, feuds, strife, jealousy,
bursts of rage, rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envious feelings,
bouts of drunkenness, carousals, and the like ; concerning which I
warn you in advance, as I have done before, that those who are
guilty of such conduct will not inherit the Dominion of God.
22 But the outcome of the Spirit's influence is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindliness, benevolence, faithfulness, 23 meekness,
self-mastery ; against these qualities Law has nothing to say. 24
And those who belong to the Christ, even Jesus, have crucified
their fleshly nature, together with its passions and cravings.
25 If it is to the Spirit that we owe our Life, let us by spiritual
ideals direct our course. 26 Let us not be vain-glorious, pro-
voking one another, envying one another.
61 Brothers, if a man should actually be surprised in some
misconduct, you who are spiritually-minded should put such
a one right in a meek spirit, each of you keeping in view your
own liability to be tempted. 2 Bear the burdens of one another,
and so satisfy fully the law of the Christ. 3 Keep in view, I
repeat, your own frailtv. For if anyone fancies himself to be
Somebody, free from any frailtv, when he is really a nobody, he
deludes himself. 4 Let each examine what he has accomplished,
and then he will discover what reason he has for self-complac-
ency, by a comparison of himself with his own past self, and
not with someone else. 5 For each man will have to carry his
own load of responsibility.
6 He who is being regularly instructed in God's Message must
give to his instructor a share of all material comforts. 7 Do
not be deluded; God is not to be rendered ridiculous by men's
evasion of His Laws. For whatsoever a man sows he will also
reap, 8 because he who sows in the field of his fleshly nature
will, from his fleshly nature, reap only corruption ; whilst he
1 Lev. 19. 18.
74 GAL. 6. 9—18
who sows in the field of his spiritual nature will, from his
spiritual nature, reap Eternal Life. 9 Do not let us flag in
doing what is right ; for at the appropriate Season we shall reap
a Harvest if we do not faint. 10 Let us, then, according as we
have opportunity, do good to all, especially to members of the
Household of the Faith.
ii See what large letters I use when I write to you with my
own hand! 12 All who wish to produce a good impression by
the observance of a physical rite, try to force you to undergo
circumcision, their real motive being the fear lest they them-
selves should be persecuted for the Cross of the Christ. 13 For
even those who undergo circumcision do not themselves observe
Law scrupulously ; but they wish you to undergo circumcision
merely in order that they may boast of your submission to the
same physical rite as themselves. 14 But be it far from me to
boast of anything except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through Whom the world is for me crucified and dead, and I for
the world. 14 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of
any importance, but only a newly-created nature. 16 And may
Peace and Mercy rest on all who regulate their course in life by
this standard, even on those who are the true Israel of God.
17 For the future let no one worry me about my claim to be
Christ's, for I, on my part, carry on my very body the brandings
which mark me as owned by Jesus.
18 The Favour of our Lord Jesus Christ, Brothers, be with
your spirit. Amen.
A FRAGMENT OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
CORINTHIANS
( = 11 COR. 6. 14—7. i.)
Before the Epistle now called / Corinthians was written, it is
clear from an allusion in that Epistle (5. 9) that an earlier Letter
had been sent by St. Paul to Corinth. With this agrees the fact
that in 77 Cor. 10. 9-11 reference is made to at least two letters
which had been transmitted from the Apostle to the Corinthian
Church prior to the composition of 77 Cor. 10. Of these two
letters one is our 7 Cor.t but the other, which had preceded it, has
been lost, though probably not in its entirety. For there are reasons
for suspecting that a fragment of this lost Epistle has become incor-
porated in 77 Cor.t since the short passage 6. 14 — 7. i is alien to its
context on either side. The previous verses, 6. 11-13, convey an
appeal for a renewal of confidence and affection between the writer
and the Corinthians; and the appeal is continued in the succeeding
FRAG. I COR. ( = 11 COR. 6. 14—16) 75
verse, 7. 2; whereas what the six intervening verses, 6. 14 — 7. i, con-
tain is a sharp admonition against any intimacy between Christians
and heathens. The difference in subject-matter and tone presented by
these verses and those that precede and follow suggests forcibly that
they do not belong to the same letter ; and since the letter written
prior to / Cor. directed that members of the Corinthian Church were
to have no relations with any persons leading immoral lives (/ Cor.
5. 9), the tenor of the verses here discussed (insisting upon the risk
of moral pollution attending association with heathens) is sufficiently
in keeping with what the lost letter is described as containing to
render it probable that they originally belonged to it. The internal
evidence pointing to this conclusion is, indeed, unsupported by any
external evidence severing these verses from the rest of 11 Cor.;
nor is it easy to see how such a fragment came to be inserted
where it occurs. Nevertheless, the abruptness of the passage in its
present context, and the smoothness of the connection between //
Cor. 6. 13 and 7. 2, when it is removed from between these verses,
favour the supposition that it has somehow been included in an
Epistle in which it once had no place. The advice given in these
six verses was afterwards modified by the qualification contained
in 7 Cor. 5. 9-13. The date of this fragment is probably some time
in 55 A.D., and the locality where the letter of which it once formed
part was composed was perhaps Ephesus.
Those who think that the removal of this paragraph from its
present context is too violent an expedient, and that it has been
from the first an integral portion of 11. Cor., must suppose that St.
Paul came to regard what is said in 7 Cor. 5. 9-13 as not sufficiently
forcible, and consequently here expresses in a more vigorous form
his disapproval of any association between Christians and heathens.
A reason for introducing this disapproval into its present context
has been sought in the use, in 77 Cor. 6. 13, of the exhortation
" Let your hearts be opened wide." It has been suggested that the
phrase recalls to the Apostle's mind the Septuagint rendering of
Dt. n. 16, "Take heed to thyself lest thy heart be opened wide,"
in a spirit of illegitimate tolerance of service rendered to other gods
beside Jehovah; and he accordingly inserts a warning against com-
promising unions with Unbelievers. But the explanation seems far-
fetched in the extreme.
6*14 Do not contract incongruous alliances with Unbelievers,
like oxen and asses yoked together.2 For what partnership
can there be between Righteousness and Lawlessness? What
association can Light have with Darkness? 15 What harmony
can exist between Christ and Beliar?8 Or what can a Believer
share with an Unbeliever? 16 Or what concord can subsist
between God's Sanctuary and idols? For we are the Sanctuary
1 For 7 Cor. i. i— 6. 13 see p. 77. * See Dt. 22. 10. 3 i.e.,
the Devil.
76 FRAG. I COR. ( = 11 COR. 6. 17—7. 1)
of the Living God, just as God Himself has declared :—
" I will dwell, and will move up and down, among them;
And I will be their God and they shall be My People."1
17 Wherefore, " Come forth from the midst of Ihem,
And separate yourselves from them,*' saith the LORD,
" And touch not anything unclean,
And then I will receive you ;
18 And I will be to you a Father,
And you shall be to Me sons and daughters, "a
Saith the LORD, Sovereign Supreme.
71 Having, then, those promises, Beloved, let us purify our-
selves from every kind of pollution, whether of body or of
spirit, bringing holiness to perfection through the fear of God.
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
CORINTHIANS
( = T CORINTHIANS )
As has been shown (p 74), this letter, which passes for St.
Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, is really the second known
to have been written by the Apostle to that Church. For its
genuineness there is very early evidence, sjnce it is mentioned by
Clement of Rome (d. 95-100) and quoted by Polycarp and Ignatius,
and its Pauline origin was acknowledged by Marcion ; whilst two
Kpistles to the Corinthians are recognized in the Muratonan Cata-
logue. / Cor. was written at Ephesus (16. 8), a city where the
Apostle had stayed not only for a short time when returning from
Corinth to Palestine, at the end of his Second Missionary Journey
(52 A.D ), but again for more than two years in the course of his
Third Journey (52-56); see Acts 18. 19, 20; 19 i-io. It was on the
second occasion that the Epistle was composed, the precise date
being uncertain, but presumably not long before the writer's depar-
ture from the city (16. 8), so that the year was probably 55. The
Letter was to a large extent an answer to one received from the
Corinthians (7. i), which had doubtless been carried by the three
persons, Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, to whose arrival
allusion is made in 16. 17, and who may have returned to Corinth
with the Apostle's reply. Information of a disturbing nature about
the Corinthian Church had also reached St. Paul through some
' Lev. 26. 12; adapted. 2 An adaptation of sentences from
Ezek. 37. 27; Is. 52. ii ; // Sam. 7. 14; and Hos. i. 10.
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 1. 1—13) 77
members of the household of a lady called Chloe ; and the nature of
this afforded a further reason for sending a communication in which
the evils reported could be dealt with. Further instruction which
the Apostle wished to convey to his Corinthian converts was carried
by Timothy, who was sent to Corinth about the same time as the
despatch of the present Letter (16. 10; cf. 4. 17, where the past
tense is an Epistolary present). The letter itself, however, was not
transmitted through Timothy, for St. Paul was apparently uncertain
about the time when he would reach Corinth ; and, as suggested
above, the actual bearers of the letter were, perhaps, Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus. It may be conjectured that some short
interval separated the composition of ch. 7-15 from that of the
piecedmg six chapters. The contents of the first half-dozen chapters
were elicited from the Apostle by what he learnt about the Corinthian
Church through the servants of Chloe ; and the arrival of a Letter
from that Church with a request to him for answers to a number of
specific questions led him to expand what he had already written
(but not yet despatched) by the addition of the concluding ten
chapters.
11 Paul, Called by the will of God to be an Apostle of Jesus
Christ, 2 and Brother Sosthcnes, to the Church of God
which is in Corinth, to those who are hallowed through union
with Christ Jesus and Called to be holy, together with all who
anywhere invoke our Lord Jesus Christ, as He has revealed
Himself, — their Lord as well as ours : 3 Favour be yours and
Peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God at all times for you, because of the Favour
of God conferred upon you in Christ Jesus, 5 since you
have been enriched by Him with every endowment — with all
kinds of inspired Utterance and every variety of spiritual Know-
ledge (6 the assurances which we gave you about the Christ and
what lie can bc*totv being thus verified amongst you). 7 Con-
sequently, you do not feel yourselves to be lagging behind others
in any spiritual gift, whilst awaiting jrom Heaven the Revelation
of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 Who will also keep you secure
until the end, unimpeachable on the Day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 9 Faithful is God, through Whom you were Called into
fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, Brothers, by the Self-revelation of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to cease to be partisans, and to see that there
are no cleavages among you, but that you are restored to perfect
harmony with one another, sharing the same attitude of mind,
and agreeing in the same judgments. n For it has been
disclosed to me concerning you, my Brothers, by members of
Chloe 's household, that there are wranglings among you. 12
By this I mean that each one among you is saying either " I am
Paul's man," or " I am Apollos' man," or " I am Kephas1
man," or " I am Christ's man." 13 Has the Christ been
78 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 1. 14—31)
allotted to a mere section of you? Was it Paul who was cruci-
fied on your behalf? Or was it to follow Paul that your baptism
pledged you? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you
(except Crispus and Gaius), 15 in order that none might say
that his baptism by me pledged him to be my follower. (16 I
baptized, too, the household of Stephanas ; but with the exception
of these whom I have named, I am not aware that I baptized
anyone else). 17 For Christ did not send me on a mission to
baptize but to impart the Good News, though not with
philosophic reasoning, lest the Cross of Christ should lose all
its influence.
18 The message of the Cross, indeed, is sheer absurdity to
those who are on the road to perdition, but to those who, like
ourselves, are in the way of Salvation it is the very Power of
God. 19 For it is written,
** I will destroy the wisdom of the philosophical,
And the intelligence of the intellectual I will stultify."1
20 Where is to be found the Greek philosopher, the Jewish
divine, the acute controversialist of this present Age? Has not
God shown the foolishness of the world's wisdom? 21 For
since, in the Wisdom of God, the world failed to come to a
knowledge of God through philosophy, it was God's good
pleasure to achieve, through the foolishness (as the world
accounts it) of what we proclaim, the Salvation of Believers. 22
For whilst Jews ask for accrediting Signs, and Greeks look for a
system of philosophy, 23 we proclaim a crucified Christ. This
Jews regard as upsetting their most cherished expectations, and
heathens consider to be the merest foolishness ; 24 but those
who are actually Called by God, both Jews and Greeks, find
Christ a demonstration of God's Power and of God's Wisdom.
25 Because what the world considers God's " foolishness " ex-
ceeds human wisdom, and what the world considers God's
" weakness " exceeds human strength.
26 For look at yourselves whom God's Call has reached,
Brothers ; because not many wise men, judged by worldly stan-
dards, not many influential men, not many men of high descent
have been Called to be His. 27 No, it is the world's foolish folk
that God chose, in order to confound the wise; it is the world's
weak folk that God chose in order to confound the strong; 28
it is the world's lowly-born folk, and the persons of no import-
ance and the nobodies that God chose, in order to reduce to
insignificance the Somebodies, 29 that no human being should
have excuse for self-glorification before Him. 30 It is from
Him that you — you, I say — derive your spiritual Life through
union with Christ Jesus, Who, sent from God, became for us
wisdom and righteousness and sanctity and redemption; 31
that the exhortation contained in the Scriptures may apply, " Let
him that vaunteth vaunt of the LORD."*
1 /j. 29. 14 ; slightly divergent from both Sept. and Heb. * Jer.
9. 23, 24; much compressed.
77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 2. 1—16) 79
21 And so when I first went to you, Brothers, I did not come
with any claim to superior eloquence or superior wisdom,
whilst informing you of God's Secret Purpose. 2 For I decided
not to know anything, whilst among you, except Jesus Christ
and Him Crucified. 3 And I came to you in a condition of
weakness and apprehension and great nervousness; 4 and my
Message and the substance of what I proclaimed were not com-
mended to you by persuasive arguments of philosophy, but were
impressed upon you by a demonstration of Spiritual Power, 5 in
order that your faith might be based not upon human wisdom,
but upon the Power of God. 6 Nevertheless, there is a Wisdom
which we communicate among the mature in faith, though it is
not a wisdom that is possessed by this Age, nor by the Spirit-
rulers of this Age, whose power is being annihilated. 7 We
communicate as a Secret God's Wisdom — that wise course of
action, hitherto kept concealed, which God preordained before
the beginning of the Ages, to promote our attainment of Glory.
8 Of this wise course of action none of the Spirit-rulers of this
Age has any understanding (for had they understood it, they
would not have brought about the Crucifixion of the Glorious
Lord) ; 9 yet notwithstanding their ignorance, we are aware
that there are Realities (in the words of Scripture)
" Which eye hath not seen nor ear heard,"
and which have not occurred to the human mind —
" Even all those good things which God hath got ready for those
who love Him."1
10 For to us, though not to them, God has revealed this Secret
Purpose through His Spirit. For God's Spirit fathoms all
things, even the profoundest thoughts of God. n For who
amongst men understands a man's thoughts, save the man's
own spirit that is within his breast? So, too, none understands
the thoughts of God save God's own Spirit. 12 But we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which pro-
ceeds from God, that we may understand the Favours lavished
by God upon us — 13 Favours of which we also speak, not in
discourses taught by human philosophy, but in discourses taught
by the Spirit, explaining spiritual truths in spiritual language.
14 But the man who judges things only by the senses rejects the
truths communicated by God's Spirit : to him they are sheer
foolishness, and he cannot understand them, because it is only
through spiritual insight that it is possible to penetrate to their
meaning. 15 But the spiritual man penetrates to the meaning of
everything, whilst his own intuitions are beyond the power of
anyone to penetrate. 16 For " who has understood tne mind of
the LORD? Who is there who will instruct Him?"2 There is
none. But we share the mind of Christ.
1 Of uncertain origin ; possibly suggested by Is. 64. 3, Sept.
(=64. 4, Heb.). a Is. 40. 13; abbreviated and slightly
divergent.
80 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 3. 1—20)
31 I, however, my Brothers, when I was with you, could not
talk to you as to spiritually-minded men, but only as to
men of flesh and blood, as mere babes in respect of your union
with Christ. 2 I had to give you milk to drink, not solid food
to eat, for solid food you were not yet able to assimilate. No,
not even now are you able to assimilate it ; 3 for when there
is amongst you this prevailing rivalry and strife, do you not
show yourselves worldlings? are you not behaving like ordinary
people? 4 For whensoever one of you says, " I am Paul's
man," and a second says, " I am Apollos' man," are you not
just ordinary people? 5 What is Paul or what is Apollos? Why,
simply ministers through whose efforts you came to be Believers,
each of them exerting himself to the best of the ability granted
to him by God. 6 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it,
but it was God Who made it grow. 7 So, then, neither the
planter nor the waterer is of any account ; it is God, Who makes
the seed to grow, that is all-important. 8 The planter and the
waterer are not competitors but a united agency, though each
will receive his individual wage, in proportion to his individual
exertions. 9 For it is God Whose joint-labourers we are; it is
God Whose Field under tillage, Whose House under construc-
tion, you are.
10 In virtue of God's Favour bestowed upon me, I, as an
expert master-builder, have laid a foundation : it is for another
man to build upon it. But everyone must take care how he
rears a superstructure upon it. n None can lay any other
foundation than that which is laid — even Jesus Christ ; and if
anyone rears on that Foundation a superstructure — be it of gold,
silver, and expensive quarry-stones, or of timber plugged with
hay and thatched with straw — the quality of each man's work
will be brought to light, for the Great Day will expose it, be-
cause the Day is to break on the world in fire; and the fire will
test each man's work, revealing its quality. 14 If anyone's
work — the superstructure which he has built — shall last, he will
receive wages ; 15 if anyone's work shall be burnt up, he will
forfeit his wages, though he himself will be saved, but only as
a man escapes, with his bare Itfe, through the middle of a fire.
16 Are you unaware that you are the Sanctuary of God, and
that God's Spirit dwells within you? 17 If anyone destroys
God's Sanctuary, him God will destroy, for God's Sanctuary is
holy, a».d such a Sanctuary you are.
18 Lt* no one delude himself. If anyone in this transient
Age think J himself to be a sage amongst you, he must become
in his own estimate a fool, in order to grow really wise, iq For
the wisdom of this world is sheer foolishness in the judgment
of God, fo, it is written of Him, " Who getteth the wise into
His grip ly means of their own craftiness";1 20 and again,
1 Job q. 13: verbally divergent, nearer the Heb
77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 3. 21—4. 11) 81
44 The LORD knoweth that the reasonings of the wise are futile."1
21 So, none should make mere men (like Paul or Apollos or
Kephas) the ground of any boast. For instead of your belong-
ing to human leaders, all things belong to you, 22 whether it
be Paul, or Apollos, or Kephas, whether it be the world, or life,
or^death, whether it be the present or the future — all belong to
you; 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.
41 It is in this light that a man should regard us teachers —
as subordinates of Christ, and Stewards who dispense know-
ledge of God's Secret Purposes. 2 On this assumption, then,
it is required in the case of stewards that a man should be found
trustworthy. 3 But to me, though I am not exempt from
accountability, it is of small moment that my conduct should
be investigated by you or by any human Court of Assize. Nay,
I do not even scrutinize my own conduct. If I did, I could
reach no sure conclusion. 4 For supposing that I am not con.
scious of any failure of duty, it does not follow that I am thereby
exonerated. He Who scrutinizes my conduct is the Lord. 5 So,
then, cease to pass judgment upon anything before the appointed
Hour of reckoning, until the Lord comes, Who will both throw
light upon the secrets which darkness screens, and will expose
the motives of human hearts; and only then will each of us get
from God the praise that is due. 6 What I have said, Brothers,
I have, for your sakes, applied to Apollos and myself, whom
you take to be rivals, to enable you in our case to study the
principle, 4< Do not speak without book " ; that you may not be
inflated each in favour of one teacher to the prejudice of a
second. 7 For who singles out you who champion one against
another, as superior in judgment to your fellows? And what
faculty of discernment, if any, do you possess which you have
not received from God? And if you actually have received from
Him such a faculty, why do you boast, as if you had not been given
it, but had acquired it by your own efforts? 8 Already, of
course, you Corinthians have all your spiritual desires satisfied !
Already you have grown spiritually rich ! You have entered
upon your spiritual Kingship without waiting for us ! I would,
indeed, that you had really entered upon your spiritual King-
ship, that we might share that Kingship with you! 9 But the
prospect of our doing so is remote, for I think that God has ex-
hibited us Apostles at the end of a procession to the arena, like
doomed wretches on their way to execution, inasmuch as we
have become a spectacle to the universe — to angels and to men
alike. 10 We, on our part, are for Christ's sake " fools," but
you are men of sense through your union with Christ. We are
weaklings but you are strong; you enjoy honour, whilst we are
in disrepute, n From the beginning of our Apostleship up to
1 Ps. 93. u, Sept. ( = 94. ii, Hcb.).
82 77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 4. Ifc-nB. 7)
the present moment we suffer from hunger and thirst; we lack
needful clothing; we are knocked about; we are homeless; 12
we are toilers at manual labour. When we are reviled, we
reply with blessings; when we are persecuted, we put up with
it; 13 when we are slandered, we appeal to our slanderer's
better feelings. We have been treated as the scum of the world,
the offscourings of mankind, up to the present time. 14 I write
this, not by way of making you feel ashamed through the con-
trast between us, but by way of admonishing you as my beloved
children. 15 For if you, in your union with Christ, should have
ten thousand slave-attendants — to take you to be schooled in
spiritual learning — at least you will not have more than one
spiritual father, for it was I who, in respect of your union with
Christ, because your spiritual father through the Good News
which I imparted. 16 Therefore I appeal to you, become
imitators of me, your spiritual father. 17 It is with this aim
that I am sending to you Timothy who, united, as he is, to
the Lord, is a beloved child of mine, and trustworthy, and who
will remind you of my ways of conducting myself in union with
Christ, consistently with what I teach everywhere in every
Church. 18 But some of you, under the impression that I am
not coming in person to you, have become inflated with self-
complacency. 19 Yet I will come to you speedily, if it is the
Lord's will, and I will acquaint myself, not with the mere talk
of those who have become inflated, but with their spiritual
power. 20 For the Dominion of God gives proof of its influence
over those who claim to be included in it not by their talk, but
by their spiritual power. 21 Which will you have? Am I to
come to you with a rod, or in love and a gentle spirit?
51 There is beyond doubt reported among you a case of
sexual immorality, and that of such a revolting kind as does
not occur even among the heathens, a certain person having his
father's wife! 2 And in spite of it, you are still inflated with
self-complacency, instead of mourning over it ! Take measures
to have him who has done this deed removed from among you.
3 I, for my part, though in body absent from you, yet in spirit
present with you, have already, as though actually on the spot,
decided, 4, 5 in the capacity of Representative of our Lord
Jesus Christ (you and my own spirit meeting for co-operation,
together with the Power of our Lord Jesus Christ) to deliver
over such an offender to Satan, by exclusion from the Church
for the destruction of his fleshly nature and its desires, in order
that his spirit may be saved in the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
6 Your self-complacent boasting is the reverse of creditable. Do
you not know that a little yeast causes a whole batch of dough
to ferment? 7 Accordingly, clear away the old "yeast" — I
mean, the sources of moral corruption — that you may be really a
new batch, just as you are potentially free from such corrup-
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 5 8-6. 11) 83
tion as yeast symbolizes. For our Passover Lamb,1 even Christ,
was sacrificed for us; 8 so let us keep the Festival, not with
bread fermented with the " yeast " of former days — not with the
" yeast " of vice and wickedness — but with " cakes free from
such yeast "—I mean, with the virtues of sincerity and truth.
9 In my last letter I wrote to you directions not to associate
with immoral men. 10 I did not, of course, mean that you were
to avoid all contact with the immoral characters of this world,
or with libertines, or extortioners, or idolaters; since you would
then have to withdraw from the world altogether, n But you
misunderstood me. Wh.it I write now means that you must
have nothing to do with any one, styling himself a Brother, who
is immoral, or a libertine, or an idolater, or abusive, or a
drunkard, or an extortioner — must avoid even partaking of the
same meal \vith such persons. 12 About heathens I say nothing;
for what have I to do with judging those who arc outside the
Church? Is it not your part to judge those who are within the
Church? 13 Those who are outside of it God judges. Remove
the wicked person from among yourselves.
61 Does any one of you, who has a case against a fellow-
Believer dare to have it decided before a Court of the un-
righteous heathen, instead of bringing it before God's Hallowed
People? 2 Or are you not aware that God's Hallowed People
will constitute the Court that is to try the world? and if the
world is eventually to be tried before you, are you unworthy to
occupy the most inferior tribunals now? 3 Are you not aware
that we are to try angels? With how much greater reason ought
we to decide merely mundane matters! 4 If, then, you should
have tribunals dealing with mundane matters, place on the Bench
those persons who in the Church are of no account : thev will be
good enough for the purpose. 5 I speak thus to make you
ashamed of yourselves. Are conditions such that there is not
one wise person among you who will be competent to arbitrate
between a man and his Brother? 6 As it is, Brother goes to law
with Brother, and this, too, before Unbelievers ! 7 Why, to
begin with, it is in every way a discomfiture for you in your
spiritual conflict that you have law-suits at all with one another,
why do you not rather submit to wrong? Why do you not
rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 8 Instead of that, it
is you who inflict wrong and practise fraud — and that, too, upon
Brothers ! Q Or are you unaware that wrongdoers will not
inherit God's Dominion? Be under no delusion. Neither the
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the sensual, nor
those who are guilty of unnatural vice, 10 nor thieves, nor
libertines, nor drunkards, nor the abusive, nor extortioners will
inherit God's Dominion, n And such scandalous creatures were
1 Cf. Joh. i. 29.
84 77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 6. 12—7. 7)
some of you once. But you had your sins washed away in
Baptism; you were rendered Hallowed; you were set right with
God through the Self-revelation of the Lord Jesus, and through
the Spirit of our God.
12 You may perhaps quote me as saying, " Everything is
placed at my disposal." Yes, but not everything is expedient
for me. " Everything is placed at my disposal." Yes, but I
will not, by turning liberty into license, let anything dispose of,
and master, me. 13 " Foods (you will retort) are meant for the
stomach and the stomach for foods, and the argument may be
extended to other parts of the body." Yes, but God will bring
to an end both the stomach and its foods. And the body is not
meant for immorality, but for the service of the Lord, and the
Lord is for the redemption of the body. 14 And God both raised
to Life the Lord, and will raise up to Life us also through His
Power. 15 Are you not aware that your bodies are members of
Christ? Am I, then, to take away the members of the Christ
from Him and make them members of a harlot? Heaven for-
bid ! 16 Or are you not aware that he who is joined to his harlot
is one body with her? " for the pair," saith God, " shall become
one in respect of physical relationships."1 17 But he that is joined
to the Lord is one with Him in respect of spiritual relationships.
18 Shun such immorality. Every other sin which a man com-
mits is external to his body, and does not transfer that body from
Christ to another; but he that is immoral sins against his own
body by withdrawing it from Christ and transferring it to a
harlot. 19 Or are you unaware that your bodies are each a
Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit within you — the Spirit that you have
from God? And you are not your own, 20 for you were bought
at a great Price. So honour God in your body, by keeping it
pure, for body and spirit are alike God's.
71 Now as regards the first of the matters mentioned in your
Letter, no doubt it is good for a man to lead a celibate life.
2 Yet on account of the prevalent immorality, each man should
have a wife of his own ; and each woman should have a husband
of her own. 3 To the wife let the husband render the marriage
dues; and let the wife likewise render the same to her husband.
4 The wife has not an exclusive right over her own person, it is
shared by the husband; and the husband has not an exclusive
right over his own person, it is shared by the wife. 5 Neither
should withhold what is due to the other, except by mutual con-
sent for an interval, in order that you may devote yourselves
without distraction to prayer, and then come together again, lest
1 Gen. 2. 23, 24; cf. 29. 14; // Sam. 5. i.
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 7. &— 22) 86
like myself; but each has his own special gift from God; one
in this direction, another in that. 8 To men who are unmarried
and to widows I say that it is good for them, if they remain as
I am. 9 But if they have no self-mastery, they should marry,
for it is better to marry than to be inflamed with unsatisfied
desire. 10 But in the case of those who have married since the
occasion when both became Believers, I give direction — the direc-
tion, indeed, is not mine, but was given by the Lord1— to the
wife not to separate from her husband (11 if she actually has
separated, she must remain single, or else be reconciled to her
husband), and to the husband not to put away his wife. 12 To
the rest I say — in this case I am not repeating instructions given
by the Lord, but ant advising you on my own responsibility — if
any Brother has a wife who is an Unbeliever, and she consents
to live with him, he must not put her away ; 13 and if any
woman has a husband who is an Unbeliever, and he consents
to live with her, she must not put him away. 14 For the Unbe-
lieving husband is hallowed through union with the wife, and the
Unbelieving wife is hallowed through union with the Brother,
whom she has married, for otherwise your children must bo
defiled : as it is, however, they are hallowed. 15 But if it is the
Unbelieving partner that is for separating, let him or her separate :
the Brother or the Sister in such circumstances is under no con-
straint (notwithstanding Christ's injunction just mentioned) to
oppose separation, for it was a state of peace that God's Call
meant you to enjoy, and this would be lost through domestic
dissension. 16 Do not oppose separation, if it is desired by the
Unbelieving paitner, in the hope that you may convert him or her ;
for how can you know, O wife, whether you will be able to save
your husband? or how can you know, O husband, whether you
will be able to save your wife? 17 This is the advice I give in
the situation described: if the circumstances are not such, then
every one should pursue his course in that state of life which
the LORD has allotted to him and in which God's\ Call to become
a Believer reached him: and this is the rule I lay down in all
the Churches. 18 Was anyone circumcised when God's Call
reached him? then he should not efface the marks of his circum-
cision. Was anyone uncircumcised when God's Call reached
him? then he should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is
of no consequence, and uncircumcision is of no consequence, but
the keeping of God's commandments is of the utmost conse-
quence. 20 Everyone should remain in the condition of life in
which he was when God's Call reached him. 21 Were you a
bond-servant when you received God's Call? Do not mind
(though if you actually can become free, take the opportunity
which offers, ralher than miss it). 22 For he who was a bond-
servant when Called into union with the Lord is the Lord's
1 See Mt. 5. 32.
86 77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 7. 23—38)
freedman ; and likewise he who was a free man when called into
that union is Christ's bond-servant. 23 You were bought at a
great Price : do not become slaves to human standards. 24 In
general, everyone, my Brothers, should remain, within the House-
hold of God, in that state of life wherein each was when God's
Call came to him.
25 With regard to unmarried daughters, I have no command
of the Lord's to impart; but I offer you my opinion as one
who, having been shown mercy by the Lord, can be trusted
not to misrepresent His wishes*. 26 I think, then, that this
principle is fundamentally right, in view of the present conditions
of stress— that it is right, I say, for a man to remain in that
state of life in which he finds himself. 27 Are you tied to a wife?
do not seek release from the tie. Are you free from any tie to
a wife? do not seek a wife. 28 Still, if you have already mar-
ried, you have committed no sin ; and if a young woman has
already married, she has committed no sin : but such will have
external afflictions to sustain, which will be felt most by mar-
ried people; and I wish you to be spared these. 29 Now this
is what I do affirm, Brothers : The interval elapsing before the
Hour of reckoning has been shortened ; henceforward those that
have wives should take care to live as though they had none,
30 and those who are weeping as though they were shedding op
tears ; and those who rejoice as though they felt no joy ; and
those who buy as though they could not keep their purchases ;
31 and those who have dealings with the world as though they
could not be absorbed in them. For the world's present phase
is passing away; 32 wherefore I wish you to be free from all
worldly anxiety. The unmarried man is free to occupy his mind
with Divine interests, and to consider how he is to please the
Lord; 33 whereas the married man has his mind pre-occupied
with worldly interests, reflecting how he is to please his wife.
34 There is a difference, too, between the interests of the wife
*and those of the maiden. The unmarried woman* is free to
occupy her mind with Divine interests, that she may be holy
both in body and in spirit ; but she that has married has her mind
pre-occupied with worldly interests, thinking how she may please
her husband. 35 It is for your own advantage that 1 offer this
advice; not with any intention of hampering your freedom, but
with a view to your acting becomingly, in undistracted attend-
ance upon the Lord. 36 But if any father thinks that he be-
haves unbecomingly towards his maiden daughter, should she
be past the prime of her youth, and if in the circumstances her
marriage ought to take place, let him act as she wishes ; he com-
mits no sin ; let the daughter and her suitor marry. 37 But he
who has firmly made up his mind, and is not compelled by cir-
cumstances to change it, but has full power to carry out his
own wishes, and has resolutely decided to keep his maiden
daughter at home, will do well. 38 So that, whilst he who
// COR. (=^I COR. 7. 39—8. 13) 87
gives in marriage his maiden daughter does well, he who does
not give her in marriage will do better. 39 A wife is bound
to her husband so long as he lives ; but when her husband
has passed to his rest, she is at liberty to be married to whom she
pleases, provided that both she and her suitor are in union with
the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, accord-
ing to my judgment, and I suppose that I, too, as well as others,
have the Spirit of God.
81 As regards offerings sacrificed to idols, you think you do
not want advice. " We are aware (you write) that we all
possess knowledge of what is spiritually important or indifferent."
Well, knowledge inflates with self-complacency, whereas it is
love that elevates and fortifies the character. 2 If any one
fancies that he has acquired some knowledge, he has not yet
gained the knowledge that he ought to have : 3 whereas if any
one loves God, he is known intimately to God. 4 With regard,
then, to the eating of offerings sacrificed to idols, " we are aware
(you say) that an idol represents nothing really existent in the
world, and that there is no other God but One.'1 5 Yes, I
agree; for even if there are reputed Gods, whether in the sky,
or on the earth (as, indeed, there are many such gods and many
such lords), 6 still, for us there is only one God, the Father,
from Whom, as their Source, all things originate, and to Whom
as our Goal we Believers are making our way ; and one Lord
Jesus Christ, through Whom all created things exist; and
through Whom we Believers exist as a new Creation likewise,
7 Nevertheless the enlightenment which you claim to have is
not found in all Believers, and some, through their familarity,
up to now, with the idol, eat the foods in question as a sacrifice
offered to an idol-God ; and their conscience, being over-sensitive,
has a sense of guiltiness. 8 " But some particular food (you
say) will not commend us to God, or do the reverse; we are, in
His sight, none the worse off, if we do not eat it, and none the
better off, if we do eat it." 9 Still, beware lest the exercise of
this freedom of yours to eat of offerings sacrificed to idols should
prove an obstacle to the spiritual progiess of the over-sensitive.
10 For if anyone should see you, the man who possesses the
requisite knowledge, seated at a meal within an idol temple,
will not his conscience, since he is as yet over-sensitive, be
fortified (as you put it) to eat the offerings sacrificed to idols,
without his misgivings being really overcome? and if this is
the case, you are not enlightening and fortifying him, but harm-
ing him; n for in consequence of the knowledge on which you
pride yourself, the over-sensitive is likely to perish — the Brother
for whose sake Christ died! 12 And in this way, by sinning
against your Brothers and by wounding their conscience, when
it is over-sensitive, you really sin against Christ. 13 Wherefore,
if food is any impediment to my Brother's spiritual progress,
88 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 9. 1—15)
then, in order to avoid proving an impediment to my Brother's
spiritual progress, I will never eat flesh again,
91 In a spirit like this, which I urge on you, I also forgo
my rights. Am I not free from the regulations of the Jewish
Law? Am I not a true Apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our
Lord? Are not you (united, as you are, to the Lord) the result
of my work? 2 If I am not an Apostle in the judgment of
others, at least I am in yours, am I not? You, through your
union with the Lord, are the authentication of my Apostleship.
3 This is my defence in reply to those who jealously scrutinize
my claims. 4 Can it be that we have no right to maintenance
by the Church? 5 Can it be that we have no right to take
about on our journeys, at the expense of the Church, a Believing
wife, like Kephas and the rest of the Apostles, and the brethren
of the Lord? 6 or have Barnabas and I alone no right to be
relieved of the necessity of earning our living by manual labour?
7 Who, pray, ever serves in a campaign on rations provided by
himself? Who plants a vineyard without eating of its produce?
or who tends a flock without partaking of the milk of the flock?
8 In thus defending myself, is it only to ordinary usage that I
can appeal? or does not even the Law itself assert the same
principle? 9 For in the Law of Moses it is laid down in writ-
ing, " Thou must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the
grain."1 Is it for the oxen that God is concerned? 10 Or is it
not exclusively for our sake, to convey to us a lesson, that He
says this? Yes, it was written for our sake, with the implication
that the ploughman in ploughing, and the thresher in threshing,
ought each to do so in the hope of a share of the crop, n If we
for you have sown a spiritual harvest, is it unreasonable if we
from you are to reap a material harvest? 12 If others share
this right over you, do not we share the same right with better
reason ? Still, we have not availed ourselves of this right ; no :
we bear up under all privation, but it is in order that we may
not occasion any hindrance to the spread of the Good News of
the Christ. 13 Are you not aware that those who labour in per-
forming the Temple rites* are maintained by what is brought
out of the Temple? and that those who regularly attend at the
Altar share with the Altar the sacrifices offered upon it?2 14 So
the Lord, too, ordained, for the benefit of those who announce
the Good News, that they should get their livelihood J>y com-
municating the Good News.3 15 But in spite of that, I, for my
part (as I have said), have not availed myself of any of these
rights in the past. And I am not writing this in order that the prin-
ciple may be observed in my case in the future. For I would
1 Dt. 25. 4- 2 Lev. 6. 16, 26; 7. 6; Num. 5. 8-10; 18. 8-32.
3 Mt. 10. 10 ( = ££. 10. 7).
II COR. ( = 1 COR. 9. 16-10. 1) 89
rather die than — no ! none shall prove this, my boast of independ-
ence, to be an empty vaunt. 16 It is the only boast that I can
make. For if I impart the Good News, the fact affords me no
ground for pride, since I am inwardly constrained to do so ; and
woe awaits me if I do not communicate the Good News. 17 If,
indeed, I do so of my own free will (which is not the case), then
I have a claim to a reward; but if I do so at Another's behest,
then I am in the position of one who is entrusted with a steward-
ship, the discharge of which affords no ground for pride. 18
What, then, in existing circumstances, is my reward, if any? It
is the consciousness that, in communicating the Good News, I
can ensure that the Good News costs my hearers nothing,
through my refraining from the full use of the rights which
communication of the Good News gives me. 19 For whereas I am
free from obligations to any man, I have, nevertheless, enslaved
myself to all men, that I may win the majority of my hearers.
20 So to the Jews I have become like a Jew, that I may win
Jews ; to those who are subject to Law I have become like one
subject to Law (though I am not really subject to it) that I may
win those who are subject to it; 21 to those who are free from
the obligations of a written Law, I am like one free fron\ the
same obligations (though not free from the claims of Law in
regard to God ; no, but bound by Law in regard to Christ), in
order that I may win those who are free from the obligations
of a written Law. 22 To the over-sensitive I have become over-
sensitive that I may win the over-sensitive. To all men I have
assumed every variety of character, in order that I may, at all
events, save some. 23 And all this I do for the sake of the Good
News, in order that I may be joint-partaker with others in the
Salvation which it offers.
24 And you must show the like singleness of aim, the like
self-control. Are you not aware that of the runners on a racing-
track, though all alike run, yet only one receives the prize?
Run your spiritual race with the same determination and direct-
ness as they, that you may secure the prize. 25 Now every
competitor in an athletic contest practises self-mastery all round;
but whereas they do it to win a victor's wreath that is perish-
able, we do it to win one that is imperishable. 26 I, then, run
without vswerving in uncertainty about the course to the winning-
post. I box like one who does not spend his blows on the air;
no ! but I bruise my body, like an adversary, black and blue, and
enslave it to my will, lest, after having proclaimed to others the
conditions of the spiritual contest, I myself should prove dis-
qualified for the prize.
"| f\ i That such final failure is possible on the part of those
A" who enjoy Divine privileges can be seen from past
examples. For I wish you, my Brothers, to be fully aware that,
though our spiritual ancestors, in their journeyings, were all
90 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 10. 2—20)
sheltered beneath the Cloud screening the Divine presence, and
all passed safely through the Red Sea, 2 and were all baptized
in the Cloud and in the Sea, pledged thereby to be followers of
Moses ; 3 and all ate the same supernatural Food1 4 and all
drank of the same supernatural Drink,2 for they drank of the
outflow from a supernatural Rock accompanying them, and the
Rock was the Christ; 5 yet with the greater part of them,
privileged though they were, God was grievously displeased, for
they were laid low in all directions in the Wilderness. 6 Through
these experiences of theirs they became warnings for us, to
deter us from craving for what is evil, just as they craved. 7
And do not become idolaters, as some of them became (as it is
recorded, " The People sat down to eat and to drink, and rose
up to disport themselves in honour of their idol).3 8 And do
not let us commit acts of immorality, as some of them did ;
and, in consequence, fell dead in one day to the number of
twenty-three thousand.4 9 And let us not presumptuously put
the LORD'S patience to the proof, as did some of them, and were
destroyed by the serpents.5 10 And do not murmur, even as
some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the Destroying
angel.6 11 All these experiences (as I have said) befell them by
way of deterrent examples for us, and were put on record in
order to teach caution to us, whom the closing periods of the
World's successive Ages have overtaken. 12 So let him who
thinks that he stands secure beware lest he fall. Nevertheless,
do not grow too despondent. 13 No temptation has taken hold
of you except such as happens to mankind universally ; and God
is faithful, for He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your
capacity for resistance; and will, together with the temptation,
if you struggle against it, provide also the way of escape needed
to enable you to sustain it. 14 Therefore, my beloved Brothers,
avoid all risk of idolatry through participation in heathen feasts.
15 I speak as to men of sense ; judge for yourselves the reason-
ableness of what I say. 16 Does not the Cup of Blessing which
we bless involve fellowship with the Blood of the Christ?
Does not the eating of the Loaf which we break into portions
involve fellowship with the Body of Christ? 17 Because there
is One Loaf, we, the many, who eat of it, constitute One Body,
for we all receive shares from the One Loaf. 18 Look at Israel
in the racial sense. Are not they who eat the sacrifices in
fellowship with the Altar and the God 1o Whom it belongs?
19 What (you ask) do I imply by this parallel? Do I mean,
after all, that an offering sacrificed to an idol is a real sacrificial
offering? or that an idol is a real god? 20 No, I mean that
what the heathen sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons,7 and to a
1 Ex. 1 6 a Ex. 17. 1-7. 8 Ex. 32. 6. 4 Contrast
Num. 25. 9. * Num. 21. 5, 6. * Num. 14. 7 Cf .
Dt. 32. 17; Ps. 105. 37, Sept. ( = 106. 37, Heb.).
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 10. 21—11. 6) 91
spiritual Power that is no true god; 21 and I do not wish you
to have fellowship with the demons. You cannot drink the Cup
of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of
what is on the Table of the Lord and what is on the table of
demons. 22 Do we intend to provoke the Lord's jealousy by
putting demons on the same level as Himself f Are we stronger
than He? 23 " All things (you say again) are placed at our
disposal." Yes, but not all things are for our good. All things
are placed at our disposal, but not all things fortify human
character. 24 Each of us should study, not his own interest,
but his fellow's. 25 Take this as a practical rule. Anything
that is for sale in the meat-market, eat, without making
enquiries about it, to avoid raising questions of conscience. 26
For to the LORD belong the earth and all that fills it.1 27 And
if any of those who are Unbelievers invites you to his house,
and you wish to go, eat anything that is set before you with-
out letting scruples of conscience cause you to make enquiries
about it. 28 But if anyone says to you, " This food is meat
that has been offered in sacrifice to an idol," then refrain from
eating it, for the sake of him who gave you the information,
and to prevent conscience from asking questions. (29 By " con-
science " I mean your informant's, not your own). For what is
gained by allowing my liberty to eat all meats indifferently to
be questioned by another's man's conscience? 30 And if I par-
take of food with gratitude to God for it, what is gained by
getting for myself a bad name through eating food for which
I say Grace? 31 Whether, then, you eat, or drink, or do
anything else, do it all to God's glory. 32 Occasion no
hindrance to the spiritual progress of Jews or of Greeks or of
the Church of God, 33 just as I, too, seek the approval of
everyone in all things, not studying my own interest but the
interest of most of my hearers, to promote their Salvation.
Ui Become imitators of me just as I try to be an imitator
of Christ. 2 Now I commend you because in every mattter
(you tell me) you keep me in mind, and retain the instructions
transmitted to you exactly as I delivered them. 3 But I wish
you to know something "else — that the Christ is the Head of
every man, whilst the man is the Head of woman, as God is
the Head of the Christ. 4 Every man, when praying or deliver-
ing an Inspired Discourse, if he keeps something over his head,
dishonours his head by placing himself on the same footing as a
woman; 5 and every woman praying, or delivering an Inspired
Discourse, with her head unveiled, dishonours her head,
for she is then on a level with a woman who, like the adulteress,
has had her head shaved; 6 for if a woman does not veil her-
self, she may as well have her hair cut short; but if it is a
1 Ps. 23. i, Sept. ( = 24. i, Heb.).
92 77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 11. 7—24)
disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut short, or shaved,
she should veil herself. 7 But in the case of a man it is
different, for a man ought not to have his head covered, inas-
much as he, by constitution, reflects the Glory of God; whereas
the woman reflects the glory of man. 8 For man does not
derive his existence from woman, but woman derives hers from
man. 9 For man was not created for the sake of the woman,
but woman for the sake _of the man. 10 For this reason a
woman ought, on account of the angels, to have upon her head
a symbol of man's authority, to secure her from molestation by
those angels who might desire to have her for themselves.1 n
Nevertheless, despite what I have said, in relation to the LORD
neither does man exist independently of woman, nor woman
independently of man. 12 For as the woman has her exist-
ence from the man as the originating source, so the man also
has his existence through the woman as the intermediate means.
though all things primarily have their existence from God. 13
To resume what I was saying — judge the matter among your-
selves. Is it seemly for a woman to pray to God in public wor-
ship without a veil? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you
that, if a man has long hair, it is a discredit to him ; 15
whereas if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, because
her hair is given to her as a natural veil? 16 But if anyone
thinks fit to be contentious about the matter, we, on our part,
have no such custom as he contends for, nor the other Churches
of God either.
17 In giving the charge to which I now pass, I cannot com-
mend you for your present practice, inasmuch as your meetings
for worship are more conducive to harm than good. 18 For in
the first place, when you meet together in Church, I hear that
divisions exist among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19
For there must, I suppose, be actual parties among you, in order
that those who are sterling characters among you, may be
recognized as such ! 20 When, then, you meet together in the
same place in a spirit of disunion, it is impossible to eat the
Lord's Supper. 21 For each, at the eating of It, takes his own
supper first ; and whilst one man has too little food, another
man takes too much to drink. 22 Can it be that you have no
houses in which to eat or drink? or do vou wish to show con-
tempt for the Church of God, and to humiliate those who have
nothing, by the contrast between your abundance and their
want? What am I say to you? Am I to commend you? In
this matter I am far from commending you. 23 For I myself
received, mediately through other men but ultimately from the
Lord, an account which I also transmitted to you, how the Lord
Jesus, on the night when He was delivered up to His enemies,
took a loaf 24 and having said Grace, broke it into portions, at
1 Gen. 6. 2.
77 COR. ( = 1 COR. 11. 25—12. 10) 93
the same time declaring, " This broken bread is my Body, which
is broken on behalf of you : do this to recall me to remem-
brance." 25 And similarly He took the cup also, after the
Supper was over, with the words, " This cup is the freshly-
instituted ' Covenant,' made binding by my blood : do this, as
often as you all drink wine from a cup shared in common, to
recall me to remembrance." 26 For as often as you eat this
Loaf and drink the Cup, you represent the Lord's Death until
He comes. 27 So that whosoever eats the Loaf or drinks the
Cup of the Lord in an unworthy spirit is answerable for pro-
faning the Lord' s Body and Blood. 28 Let then, a man
examine himself, and then, but only then, he should eat of the
Loaf and drink of the Cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in
an unworthy spirit eats and drinks a judgment for himself,
through not discerning the presence of the Body. 30 It is in
consequence of this that among you many are infirm and in-
valids, and numbers pass to the sleep of death. 31 Whereas
if we discerned aright our own condition, we should not incur
judgment as we do. 32 But in undergoing judgment we are
being disciplined by the Lord to save us from incurring final
condemnation along with the rest of the world. 33 So, my
Brothers, when you meet together to eat the Supper, wait for
one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, he should eat what he
wants at home, that you may not, when you meet together,
bring upon yourselves a judgment. The other matters I will
settle as soon as I come.
i Concerning Spiritual Influences, Brothers, I do not wish
you to remain ignorant that they are of diverse origin.
2 You are aware that *once* you were heathens, drawn
away after mute idols, according as you happened to be enticed
by some evil spirit. 3 Wherefore to help you to discriminate
between one spiritual Influence and another I inform you that
no one speaking under the influence of God's Spirit can say,
41 Accursed is Jesus "; and no one can affirm " Jesus is Lord,"
except under the influence of Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are
varieties of gifts that are distributed, but it is the same Spirit
that bestows them ; and there are varieties of functions that are
apportioned, yet it is the same Lord Who allots them; 6 and
there are varieties of activities that are assigned, but it is the
same God Who is universally active in every one. 7 But to each
individual the manifestation of the Spirit's Power is given for
the common good. 8 For to one there is given by the Spirit
a faculty for expounding Divine Wisdom ; to another a faculty
for expounding Divine Knowledge in virtue of the same Spirit;
9 to a different person Faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts
of Healing by the one Spirit; 10 to another the exercise of
exceptional Powers ; to another a faculty for delivering Inspired
discourses; to another ability to distinguish true from false
94 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 12. 11—30)
Inspiration; to someone else the faculty of Rapturous speech in
strange languages; to another the ability to Interpret such lan-
guages, ii All these endowments are due to the activity of one
and the same Spirit, apportioning them to each person separ-
ately, just as He wills. 12 For even as the human body is a
unity, though possessing many members ; and all the members of
the body, though many, yet constitute one single body, so too
is the Church, the Body of the Christ. 13 For it was by one
Spirit that we were all, in baptism, incorporated into One col-
lective Body, whether we were Jews or Greeks, whether bondmen
or freemen ; and were all imbued with One Spirit. 14 For even
the human body does not consist of a single member only, but
of many. 15 If the foot should say, " Because I am not a hand,
I do not belong to the body," it does not follow from this that
it really forms no part of the body. 16 And if the ear should
say, " Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,11
it does not follow from this that it really forms no part of the
body. 17 If the body were all eye, where would the hearing be?
And if it were all ear, where would the smelling be? 18 But as
it is, God has arranged the members, each single one of them,
in the body just as it has pleased Him. 19 If all were one
single member, where would the body be? 20 But as it is, there
are many members but a single body. 21 The eye cannot say
to the hand, " I have no need of you "; or again the head to
the feet, " I have no need of you.1' 22 On the contrary, those
members of the body which seem to be feebler than the rest are
by constitution much more indispensable. 23 And those parts
of the body which we think more ignoble than the rest we
invest with special distinction by carefullv clothing them; and
our less seemly parts get special seemliness given to them, 24
whereas our seemly parts have no need of special care. But God
has adjusted the body together, providing that the parts which
are inferior to the rest should get special attention paid to them,
25 in order that there may be no cleavage in the body, but that
its members may feel mutual concern for one another's well-
being. 26 And' so, if one member suffers, all the members
share the suffering; and if one member receives honour, all the
members share its satisfaction. 27 Now you collectively con-
stitute the Body of Christ, and are severally members and in-
dividual parts of it. 28 And your functions vary. Some of you
God placed in the Church to be, first of all, Apostles; secondly,
Inspired Preachers; thirdly, Teachers; then those endowed with
exceptional Powers ; then those gifted with a faculty of Healing ;
with a capacity for rendering Help as subordinates; with ability
for Governing as superiors ; with a capacity for Rapturous speech
in strange languages. 29 Is it the case that all are Apostles?
that all are Inspired Preachers? that all are Teachers? Are all
endowed with exceptional Powers? 30 Are all gifted with a
faculty of Healing? Can all speak* Rapturously in strange
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 12. 31—14. 4) 95
languages? Can all Interpret such languages? 31 Fervently
desire the superior gifts. Yet I can point out, besides, a Way of
Life for you to pursue, which is beyond all comparison the
best.
"1 O i If I speak Rapturously in strange languages, whether
AO human or angelic, but lack Love, I am become mere
ringing bell-metal or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have a
faculty for delivering Inspired Discourses, and if I am acquainted
with all God's Secret Purposes, and the whole field of spiritual
Knowledge, and if I have all the Faith that avails to remove
obstacles huge as mountains, yet lack Love, I am worth nothing.
3 And if I dole out to the hungry all my possessions, or if, for
self-glorification, I surrender my body to destruction, yet lack
Love, I am none the better off. 4 Love is forbearing and kind;
Love feels no jealousy ; Love is no braggart ; is not inflated with
self-importance; 5 is not unmannerly; is not self-seeking; does
not become irritated; does not reckon up the wrongs it has sus-
tained; 6 does not rejoice over others' ill-doing, but sympathizes
when Truth triumphs. 7 It is reticent about all things
discreditable; it is trustful about all things disquieting; it is
hopeful about all things doubtful; it is patient under all things
trying. 8 Love never comes to an end; whereas if our gift be
a faculty for Inspired Discourse, it will be superseded ; if it be
Rapturous speech in strange tongues, it will cease; if it be
spiritual Knowledge, it will be superseded, q For our spiritual
Knowledge has limits, and our Inspired preaching has limits; 10
but when that which is perfect has come, that which is limited
will be superseded, u When I was a child, I talked like a
child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; but now,
when I am become a man, I have laid aside childish ways. 12
For now we see Reality reflected brokenly as by the surface of
a metallic mirror; but then, in that iuture Life, we shall see
face to face. Now I am getting to know that Reality little by
little, but then I shall know it fully, just as I, too, have always
been fully known by God. 13 This being so, these three Gifts
—Faith, Hope, Love— are lasting, but the greatest of these is
Love.
Mi Make, then, Love the aim of your endeavour; but
along with it fervently desire spiritual Gifts and a faculty
for delivering Inspired discourses in preference to speaking Rap-
turously in strange languages. 2 For he that speaks Raptur-
ously in a strange language speaks not to men but to God, for by
none is he heard intelligibly, but, rapt in spirit, he utters what to
his hearers are unexplained Divine Secrets. 3 On the other
hand, he who delivers Inspired discourses utters to men some-
thing which fortifies, encourages, consoles, them. 4 He who
speaks Rapturously in a strange language fortifies only him-
96 II COR. ( = 1 COR. 14. 5—22)
self; whereas he who delivers Inspired discourses fortifies spirit-
ually the Church. 5 I should like all of you, indeed, to speak
Rapturously in strange languages, but I should prefer you to
deliver Inspired discourses; for of greater worth in the Church
is he who delivers Inspired discourses than he who speaks Rap-
turously in strange languages, unless the latter interprets what
he utters, that the Church thereby may be spiritually fortified.
6 At the present time, Brothers, if I were to come to you speak-
ing Rapturously in strange languages, what good should I do
you, unless in speaking I conveyed to you some Revelation or
fresh spiritual Knowledge, some Inspired discourse, or Instruc-
tion? 7 If lifeless instruments, whether pipe or harp, though
producing a sound, nevertheless make no distinction between
their successive notes, how shall the air that is played on pipe
or harp be recognized? 8 For (to take another example) if a
trumpet, too, gives forth an uncertain blast, who will equip
himself for battle? 9 So, too, you, if you do not utter with
your tongue speech easily intelligible, how will that which is
spoken by you be understood? For you will be speaking to the
winds. 10 There are, it may be, ever so many varieties of
speech in the world, and none of them meaningless, u Well,
if I do not understand the significance of the speech in which I
am addressed, I shall be to the speaker a foreigner, whilst to
my thinking the speaker will be a foreigner. 12 So you, too,
since you are fervently desirous of spiritual Gifts, should, when
seeking to be richly furnished with them, keep in view the
spiritual fortifying of the Church. 13 Accordingly he that speaks
Rapturously in a strange language should pray for ability to
interpret it to the hearers. 14 For if I pray Rapturously in a
strange language, though my spirit prays, yet my intelligence
produces nothing of benefit to others. 15 What conclusion
follows, then? Why. this conclusion: I will pray with my
spirit, but I will pray with my intelligence also. I will make
melody with my spirit, but I will make melody with my in-
telligence also. '16 For if you bless God Rapturously in spirit
only, how shall he who occupies the position of the uninstructed
hearer say " Amen " to your thanksgiving, since he does not
understand what you are saying? 17 For you may give thanks
admirably, without the other being thereby fortified in character.
18 Thank God I speak Rapturously in strange languages in a
degree beyond you all ; 19 but in Church I would rather utter
five sentences with my intelligence, in order to instruct others
also, than ten thousand sentences in a strange language.
20 Brothers, do not shew yourselves mere children in your
minds : in vice, indeed, be infants, but in your minds shew
yourselves to be grown-up. 21 It is written in the Law (that
is, in the Old Testament) " With strange tongues, and with the
lips of aliens I will speak to this People; but not even so will
they listen to me," saith the LORD.1 22 So the gift of strange
11 COR. ( = 1 COR. 14. 23—35) 97
languages is a sign not to Believers but to Unbelievers ; whereas
Inspired Discourse is intended not for Unbelievers but for Be-
lievers. 23 If, then, the whole Church come together in a
collective assembly, and all speak Rapturously in strange Ian-
guages, and uninstructed persons, or Unbelievers, enter, will
they not say that you are raving? 24 Whereas if all successively
engage in Inspired discourse, and an Unbeliever or an unin-
structed person enters, his inward state is exposed to him by all,
his inmost thoughts are penetrated by all ; and in this way the
secrets of his heart are brought to light, so that he understands
his true condition; and in these circumstances he will prostrate
himself and worship God, reporting to others that God is really
among you. 26 What conclusion, then, follows, Brothers?
When you come together, suppose each of you has a Melody to
sing, or some Instruction to convey, or has some Revelation
to communicate, or breaks into Rapturous speech in a strange
language, or is ready to furnish an Interpretation of such Rap-
turous speech ; well, everything should be done with a view to
fortifying character. 27 If any speaks Rapturously in a strange
language, two, or at most three, of them should do so, each in
turn, and one should Interpret what is uttered. 28 If there be
no interpreter present, each of them must remain silent in
Church, and speak to himself and to God. 29 Of the Inspired
Preachers two or three should speak in turn, and the rest must
use their judgment about the source of the speaker's inspiration.
30 If a Revelation be disclosed to another who is seated near,
the first should cease to speak. 31 For in this way all of you
who possess the gift of Inspired discourse can exercise it one by
one, in order that all may learn something, and all may receive
encouragement. 32 The necessary self-restraint is not beyond
the capacity of the Inspired Preacher, since the spiritual im-
pulses of the Inspired Preachers are subject to their control, 33
for God, Who is the Source of true inspiration, is a God not of
disorder but of peace ; and this rule is observed in all the
Churches of His Hallowed People.1 37 If anyone considers him-
self to be an Inspired Preacher, or to be spiritually gifted, let
him recognize that the directions I am writing to you are the
Lord's commands. 38 If anyone is ignorant of this, he must
remain so; I cannot argue unth him. 39 Accordingly, Brothers,
desire fervently the gift of Inspired Discourse; yet do not inter-
fere with Rapturous speaking in strange languages. 40 Let
every thing be done decorously and in order.
34 Your women should keep silence in the Churches, for it
is not permissible for them to speak there; they must occupy a
subordinate place, just as the Law, too, enjoins.2 35 If they
wish to get information, they should ask their respective hus-
bands at home, for it is disgraceful for women to speak in
1 For int. 34-36 see below. 2 Gen. 3. i6b.
98 11 COR. ( = 1 COR. 14. 36-15. 19)
Church. 36 // you think otherwise, was it from you that God's
Message started forth? or was it you alone that it reached, that
you should claim independence?*
i Now I go on to acquaint you, Brothers, with the Good
News which I imparted to you, the Good News which
you also received, on which you also take your stand, 2 and
through which you are also on the way to Salvation — to acquaint
you, I say, in what terms I imparted the Good News to you (if
you retain in mind what I said), unless you became Believers to
no purpose. 3 For I transmitted to you, amongst the foremost
matters requiring your attention, the account which I myself
had received from others, that Christ died for our sins, as fore-
told by the Scriptures;2 that He was buried, and that He was
raised to Life — it was on the second day afterwards, as foretold
in the Scriptures ;3 — that He appeared to Kephas ;4 then to the
" Twelve";5 6 next, He appeared to above five hundred
Brothers all at one time, of whom the greater number survive
until now, though some have passed to their rest. 7 Later, He
appeared to James ; and then to all the Apostles. 8 And last
of all, He appeared to me also, as to the abortion among the
Apostolic family.0 9 For I am the most insignificant of the
Apostles, and am not fit to be called an Apostle, because I per-
secuted the Church of God. 10 By God's Favour, however, I
am what I am ; and His Favour that was bestowed on me was
not thrown away, but I laboured more extensively than all of
them; yet it was not I, but the Favour of God, which attends
me. ir So whether it was I or they who have done most, this
is what we proclaim, and this is what you came to believe.
12 But if it is proclaimed that Christ has been raised to Life
from among dead men, how is it that some among yourselves
maintain that a resurrection of dead men is impossible? 13
Well, if a resurrection of dead men is impossible, then Christ
has not been raised to Life any more than others. 14 But if
Christ has not been raised to Life, then what we proclaim is a
delusion, and your faith is also a delusion ; 15 and we, more-
over, are detected in making false statements about God, to the
effect that He raised to Life Christ, Whom He did not raise to
Life, if, after all, dead men are never raised to Life. 16 And if
dead men are never raised to Life, then Christ has not been raised
to Life either ; 17 and if Christ has not been raised to Life, then
your faith is futile ; you are still in your sins. 18 Then, too, those
who have gone to their rest in union with Christ have perished
as He has. 19 If in this life we have in Christ merely hope,
and nothing else hereafter, then we are of all men more pitiable
than any.
1 For w. 37-40 see above. * Is. 53. u, 12. a Hos. 6. 2.
4 Lk. 24. 34. 5 Cf Lk. 24. 36, Mt. 28. 1 6, 17, Joh. 20. 26.
6 Acts 9. 3-9.
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 15. 20—38) 99
20 But, in point of fact, Christ has been raised to Life from
among dead men, the First-fruits of the Harvest of those that
have passed to their rest. 21 For since it was a man who
brought about death, so it was a Man who brought about a
^Resurrection of dead men. 22 For as, through sharing in
Adam's physical nature, all men die, so, through sharing in the
Christ's spiritual nature, all will be restored to Life. 23 But each
in his own Division : Christ the first-fruits ; next, those who are
the Christ's, at His Coming ; 24 then finally, when He surrenders
His Dominion to His God and Father, and when He has sup-
pressed every hostile Spiritual Ruler and Authority and Power
25 (for He must reign as King until God has put all His enemies
beneath His feet), 26 Death is suppressed as the last enemy of
all ; 27 for God has reduced all things to subjection beneath
His feet.1 (When, however, Christ shall declare that " all things
have been reduced to subjection," clearly " all " means " with
the exception of the Father Who has reduced all things to sub-
jection under Him "). 28 Hut when the universe has been re-
duced to subjection under Him, then the Son Himself will be-
come subject to Him Who has reduced the universe to subjection
under Him, that God, in the case of all persons, may be their
All. 20 For if it be otherwise, what good will they who are
baptized on behalf of their unbaptized dead do for them? If
dead men are not raised to life at all, why are persons actually
baptized on behalf of them? 30 Why do we Apostles ourselves,
too* risk our lives every hour? 31 Every day I am on the verge
of death. Yes, I swear it is true, by the pride which I take in
you, Brothers, in consequence of our common union with Christ
Jesus our Lord. 32 If I had shared the opinion of the ordinary
man about the absence of any sequel to this life, when at Ephesus
I fought with men as savage as wild beasts, what advantage
could I have had in view by so fighting? If dead men are not
raised to Life, then " let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we
die."2 33 // you associate with those who think and act thus,
be under no delusion : "111 company good morals doth cor-
rupt."3 34 Recover, as you should, your soberness of thought,
and cease to sin, for some of you have no real knowledge of
God : it is to move you to shame that I speak like this.
35 But someone will rejoin, " Well, how are the dead raised
to Life? and in what embodiment do they come?" 36 Foolish
man, the seed which you yourself sow does not come to life,
unless it has previously died; 37 and what you sow is not the
embodiment of the life which is to be, but a bare grain, of
wheat, or of one of the other varieties of corn (just as it hap-
pens), 38 but God gives to the life in it an embodiment,
according as He has determined ; and to the life in each of
1 Cf. Ps. 8. 7, Sept. and Heb. 2 Is. 22. i3b. 3 Thought to
be quoted from the Greek poet Menander (c. 320 B.C.).
100 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 15. 39—54)
the various sorts of seeds its own special embodiment. 39 Take
another illustration. Not all flesh is of the same kind; but the
flesh of human beings is of one kind, the flesh of beasts is of
another, the flesh of birds another, and the flesh of fishes yet
another. 40 And, again, there are bodies in the sky and bodies^
on the earth; but the splendour of those in the sky is of one
sort, and the splendour of those on the earth is of a different
sort. 41 The splendour of the sun is of one kind, and the
splendour of the moon is of another kind, and the splendour
of the stars is of yet another kind. / say " stars," for there are
many, and indeed one star differs from another star in splen-
dour. 42 The same principle holds in the case of the Resurrec-
tion of the dead; there is a difference between our present body
and our future body. What is " sown " on our entrance into
this world at birth is a body in a condition of pcrishableness :
what is raised on our entrance into the next world is a body in
a condition of imperishableness. 43 What is sown at birth is in
a condition of degradation : what is raised from death is in a
condition of glory; what is sown at birth is in a condition of
frailty, what is raised from death is in a condition of power. 44
Whatissown at birth is a body fitted for animal life; what is raised
from death is a body fitted for spiritual Life. If there is a body
fitted for animal life, there is also a body fitted for spiritual
Life. 45 This is the import of the passage in Scripture, " The
first man, Adam, became a being possessed of animal life " :'
the last Adam became a Spirit imparting spiritual Life. 46 But
that which is spiritual does not come first, but that which is
animal ; that which is spiritual comes afterwards. 47 The first
man was made out of the earth, material in his nature ; the
second Man is to come out of Heaven. 48 As was the material
man, such are they who are material ; and as is the heavenly
Man, such are they who are heavenly. 49 And just as we have
borne the likeness of the material man, so we shall also bear
the likeness of the heavenly Man. 50 Now this is what I affirm,
Brothers — that flesh and blood, which arc material, cannot in-
herit God's Dominion, nor can what is perishable inherit im-
perishableness. 51 Listen to this : I tell you a Divine secret.
We shall not all pass to rest in the grave, but we shall all pass
through a change, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last Trumpet-call (for the Trumpet will be blown), and
those who are dead will be raised to Life imperishable, while we
who are still alive will undergo a change. 53 For this perishable
embodiment of ours must be invested with imperishableness,
and this mortal embodiment must be invested with immortality.
54 And when this mortal embodiment has been invested with
immortality, then there will be realized the Declaration that
stands written, " Death has been annihilated in Life's Vic-
1 Gen. 2. 7 ; modified.
// COR. ( = 1 COR. 15. 55—16. 1C) 101
tory."1 55 What, O Death, has become of thy victory? What,
0 Death, has become of thy sting?2 56 The sting of Death is
due to Sin, and Sin derives its power from the Law, which
provokes in us defiance of its injunctions. 57 But thanks be to
God, Who gives the victory to us through our Lord Jesus Christ !
58 So, my beloved Brothers, shew yourselves firm, unyielding,
exerting yourselves to the utmost at all times in the Lord's
work, knowing well that your toil cannot be wasted, if pursued
in union with the Lord.
I With re£ard to the Collection for God's Hallowed
People, carry out the same arrangements as those which
1 drew up for the Churches of Galatia. 2 On the first day of
every week each one of you at home, as he accumulates what-
ever gain prosperous trading has brought him, should lay by
something, in order that no collection need be set on foot when
I come. 3 On my arrival I will send those persons, of whom
you may approve by letter, to carry your gracious present to
Jerusalem. 4 And if it is worth while for me also to proceed
thither, they shall go there along with me. 5 I intend to visit
you when I have passed through Macedonia, for it is Macedonia
that I am about to traverse. 6 With you I shall perhaps make
a considerable stay, or even spend the winter, in order to render
it possible for you, in particular, to set me forward on my way
to my destination, wherever I may proceed. 7 For I do not
want to see you now merely in passing : I hope to spend some
time with you, if the Lord permits me. 8 I shall remain at
Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For there lies before me a promising
opening, calling for vigorous efforts ; and there are manv stand-
ing in the way of my taking advantage of it. 10 If Timothy
comes to you, take care that, when he visits you, he need feel
no misgiving, for it is in the work of the Lord that he is engaged,
like myself, u Let no one, then, slight him, but forward him
on his way with God's Blessing, in order that he may come
to me : for I, along with the Brothers here, am awaiting him.
12 As regards Brother Apollos, I earnestly appealed to him to
go to you, in company with the other Brothers ; yet, in spite
of my appeal, it was not at all his wish to go now, though he
will go as soon as a favourable opportunity offers.
13 Be watchful ; stand fast in the Faith ; prove yourselves
men ; be vigorous. 14 Let all your proceedings be carried out
in a spirit of love. 15 I make this appeal to you, Brothers :
you know about the household of Stephanas, that it is the first-
fruits of the spiritual Harvest gathered in Achaia, and that its
members have enlisted themselves for service to God's Hallowed
People. 16 Well, I appeal to you also to range yourselves under
such leaders as these, and under everyone who shares in the work
1 /J. 25. 8, quoted from Theodotion's Version : widely divergent.
3 Hos. 13. 14 ; divergent.
102 // COR. ( = 1 COR. 16 17—24)
and toils hard. 17 I rejoice at the arrival here of Stephanas
and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for
what was lacking on your part, 18 for they have cheered my
spirit and thereby yours, too : so appreciate the worth of such
men as they are.
19 The Churches in the Province of Asia wish to be remem-
bered to you. Aquila and Prisca, together with' the Church
that meets in their house, send their kindest regards to you as
being united to the Lord. 20 All the Brothers wish to be re-
membered to you. Greet one another with a holy kiss of con-
cord. 21 This postscript, conveying to you my kind regards,
is written with my own hand, the hand of me, Paul. If any-
one fails to love the Lord Jesus Christ, let God's Curse be on
him. 22 " Maran atha " [" Our Lord comes "]. 23 The Favour
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 24 My love be with you
all in union with Christ Jes>us.
A FRAGMENT OF THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
CORINTHIANS
(CONSTITUTING II. COR. io.-i3 )
The Letter to the Corinthians of which the short passage 11 Cor.
6. 14 — 7. i is suspected to be a surviving fragment (see p. 74) is not
the only one of which, in all probability, a large part has been lost.
For certain longer passages in II Cor.t referring to a prior letter, are
unintelligible if / Cor. is the only other communication (apart from
that of which // Cor. 6. 14 — 7.1 is a portion) that had passed between
the Apostle and the Church at Corinth (see 2. 3, 4; 7. 8) shortly
before these passages were written. Either, then, a Letter has been
entirely lost, or else part of it has been preserved in // Cor. 10. — 13.
And that the latter hypothesis is not lacking in plausibility appears
from more than one consideration. Firstly, the last four chapters
of the Epistle as it stands exhibit a very different tone from the
preceding nine, since indignation, threats, and sarcasm (10. 6; 13.
2; n. 19) find expression in them, instead of thankfulness and
trustfulness (7. 4, 16). This difference suggests that these two groups
of chapters must have been composed under very dissimilar con-
ditions. The concluding four chapters imply that there had been
manifested in the Corinthian Church great personal antagonism to
St. Paul on the part of some teachers, who had been contemptuous
of his appearance and bearing, and on various grounds had dis-
paraged his claims to Apostleship, whilst magnifying their own
FRAG. Ill COR. ( = 11 COR. 10—13), INT. 103
(II Cor. 10. i, 10; n. 5, 22, 23; 12. n); and St. Paul, in denouncing
their attitude towards himself, and their efforts to undermine his
influence with the Church, uses very strong language. And
secondly, the contents of these four chapters answer very well to
such a Letter as is alluded to in 2. 3, 4; 7. 8 — a Letter designed to
castigate severely those to whom it was addressed. Accordingly, it
seems probable that // Cor. is a combination of parts of two
separate Epistles, (a) io.-i3., (b) I.-Q., the order in which they are
here arranged corresponding to the chronological order in which
it is believed that they were composed.
The earlier, to which ch. io.-i3. belong, and which is here under
consideration, was elicited from the Apostle in consequence of a visit
paid by him to Corinth for the second time (13. 2). This visit, which
is unrecorded in Acts, but is contemplated in / Cor. 4. 21; n. 34,
occasioned him great distress (see // Cor. 2. i). The hostility shown
to him by a section of the Corinthian Church seems to have been
accompanied by some outrageous conduct on the part of an in-
dividual (see 11 Cor. 7. 12) ; and on his return from Corinth he
expressed in the Letter, of which ch. 10 -13 constitute the conclusion,
his indignant surprise at the conditions which he found prevailing
there. The Letter was despatched before the writer's departure for
Macedonia (see 11 Cor. 2. 13 ; 7. 5), being conveyed (seemingly) by
Titus, who was able to bring back news of an improvement in the
state of feeling at Corinth, to the intense relief of the Apostle
(II Cor. 7. 6).
If the journey to Troas and Macedonia to which St. Paul alludes
in 11 Cor. 2. 12, 13 is reasonably identified with that mentioned in
Acts 20. i, the place of origin of this Letter was Kphesus; and
this conclusion is confirmed by the writer's hope of being able to
evangelize the lands " beyond Corinth " (// Cor. 10 16), the refer-
ence presumably being to Italy and Spam (Rom. 15. 23, 24), which
by a writer resident in Asia Minor could be thus appropriately
described. The date of its composition was probably the autumn
of 55-
The two w. n. 32, 33 appear to have suffered accidental mis-
placement : their proper context seems to be the list of dangers and
hairbreadth escapes enumerated in w. 24-26, and they have accord-
ingly been transposed.
Another explanation of the difference of spirit marking ch. i.-g.
and io.-i3. is the supposition that, though they appear like parts
of separate Letters, the second group of chapters is not earlier than
the first, but was composed after the receipt of bad news from
Corinth, relating the renewal of hostility towards St. Paul. As
there is no MS. support for severing 77 Cor. into two fragments,
it is, of course, possible that it is really a unity, but that after the
Apostle had penned only a portion of it, distressing information
reached him, and caused him to finish it in a tone very unlike that
in which he had begun. An argument in favour of the integrity
of 77 Cor. has been found in the fact that in 8. 18, 19 a description
104 FRAG. Ill COR. ( = 11 COR. 10. 1—10)
is given of the Brother whom St. Paul was sending to Corinth in
company with Titus, whereas in 12. 18 reference is made to him as
to one previously mentioned — a circumstance pointing to the con-
clusion that these two passages are in their proper order as arranged
at present. But notwithstanding this and some other considerations,
the difficulties presented aie perhaps best solved by the hypothesis
that the Epistle is constructed out of two fragmentary Letters, the
chronological succession of which has been inverted. The Epistle
is less widely quoted by early Patristic writers than / Cor., probably
in consequence of its being more exclusively concerned with the
personal relations subsisting between St. Paul and a particular
church ; but it was included by Marcion in his Canon, and has place
in the Muratorian Catalogue.
"I f\l i I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and
JLU considerateness of the Christ — I who am represented as
being humble enough amongst you, when face to face with you,
but as adopting a bold tone towards you when away from you —
2 yes, I beseech you, do not, when I come to you, force me to
adopt a bold attitude with the same confidence with
which I now, when at a distance from you, am reckoning upon
taking a courageous line towards certain people who, on their part,
reckon that, in our proceedings, we are dependent on human
resources only. 3 They are mistaken; for though in our ordinary
course of life we have none but human resources, our spiritual
campaign is not waged with merely human resources; 4 for
the weapons of our campaign are not weak human weapons
but weapons divinely powerful, for the demolition of strongholds
that resist the Good News. 5 We demolish opposing Reason-
ings and all presumptuous Unbelief that, like a towering fort-
ress, rears itself against the knowledge of God ; and we take
captive and render submissive to the Christ every defiant
thought, 6 and hold ourselves in readiness to punish any in-
dividual act of insubordination, as soon as your collective sub-
mission is complete. 7 Look at the facts staring you in the
face. 8 If a certain person is confident in his own mind
that he belongs to Christ, he should reflect again with himself,
and recognize that we belong to Christ, just as much as he.
For if I should boast rather extravagantly about my authority
(which the Lord gave me for the purpose of elovating and forti-
fying your character and not of demolishing you), I shall not
expose myself to shame by failing to make good my contention.
9 / will not put it more strongly, lest I should be suspected of
trying to intimidate you, as it were, with my letters, 10 because
So-and-So says, " Though Paul's Letters are weighty and
1 For ch. i. — 9. see p. 112.
/// COR. ( = 11 COR. 10 11—11. 7) 106
forcible, yet his bodily presence, when you see him, is unim-
pressive, and his style of speaking is beneath contempt." n
So-and-So must reckon on this, that we shall be as forcible
in action when present with you, as we are in the language of
our letters, when at a distance from you. 12 Some people, it
seems, imagine that we are deficient in courage. Well, we
have not, it is true, the courage to class ourselves among, or
compare ourselves with, certain of those who indulge in self-
commendation. These persons, however, by taking, in their
estimates and comparisons, one another as their standards in
a spirit of mutual admiration, show scant intelligence. 13 But
we, on our part, if we must boast of our authority, are not
going to exceed the proper bounds for the exercise of that
authority, but will keep within the limits of the prescribed area
which God has assigned to us ; though this allows us to extend
our claims as far even as you. 14 For we are not straining
our authority, as though our range did not include you. For in
the work of diffusing the Good News of the Christ, we were the
first to reach as far as you. 15 So we are not making dispropor-
tionate claims beyond our proper bounds, in an area where others
have toiled ; but we cherish a hope that, as your faith develops,
you may render possible an extensive enlargement of our range,
though still within our own sphere, 16 enabling us to impart
the Good News in the lands beyond you, without entering within
another's sphere, and boasting over what had, been already
achieved before we came. 17 If, indeed, anyone boasts, let him
do so on the score not of what he, but of what the Lord, has
done; 18 for not he who commends himself, but he whom the
Lord commends, is approved as sterling metal.
ni I wish you could put up with a little folly from me,
such as all self-commendation involves. But I need not
express such a wish; you do, indeed, put up with me. 2 I am
jealous over you with God's own jealousy, for I betrothed you
to one Bridegroom exclusively, to present a chaste maiden to
the Christ. 3 But I fear that somehow, as the Serpent by his
craftiness beguiled Eve, so your thoughts may have been seduced
from the undivided devotion which is due to the Christ. 4 For
if the newcomer of whom you speak proclaims another Jesus
Whom we did not proclaim, or you receive a different Spirit —
one which you have not previously received — or a different type
of Good News, such as you have not previously accepted, you
put up with him nobly! And if you can tolerate such, you
might tolerate me; for I reckon that I have not in any way
fallen short of these super-Apostles. 6 And if I am really A
simpleton in speech (as some represent), at least I am not so in
spiritual knowledge; and what we know we have in every
respect, amongst all sorts of men, made plain to you. 7 Or was
I guilty of an error in assuming a humble position, that you
106 /// COR. ( = 11 COR. 11. 8—23)
might occupy a dignified one — I mean by imparting to you, with-
out cost to yourselves, God's Good News? 8 Other churches I
pillaged by taking means of support from them in order to
minister gratuitously to you ; and when I was with you and
found myself short of supplies, even then I was no drain on the
resources of any of you ; for my lack of means was made good
by further supplies brought by the Brothers who came from
Macedonia.1 In every respect I consistently kept myself from
being a burden to you, and will continue to do so. 10 As surely
as Christ's truth is in me, I swear that nothing that I do shall
ever debar me from making this boast of independence in the
districts of Achaia. u Do you ask why I act thus? Is it be-
cause I have no love for you? God knows that I have much
love for you. 12 But what I do, I intend to continue to do in
order that I may cut the ground from under the feet of those who
want a foothold to enable them, in respect of their proceedings
about which they boast — preaching the Gospel and receiving
maintenance for it — to appear to work on just the same terms
as we do. 13 For such men as these are false Apostles, sham
workmen, merely masquerading as Apostles of Christ. 14 And
no wonder ! for Satan himself can masquerade as an angel of
light!2 15 So it is no wonder if his ministers also assume the
guise of upright ministers, though their end will be in keeping
with their conduct.
16 Again I say, Let no one deem me a fool for defending and
commending myself thus; or, if you must, then at least humour
me, as you would a fool, and give me a hearing, in order that
I, like others, may boast a bit. 17 What I tell you, when I
boast so confidently, I do not tell you with the Lord's authority
behind me, but as a fool talks in his folly. 18 Since numbers
of people boast of their external advantages or qualifications, I,
too, will make the same boasts. 19 You will, I feel sure, put
up with me, for you gladly put up with fools, being such sensible
men yourselves. 20 For you put up with it, if a man allows
you no independence, if he eats you out of house and home, if
he makes you his prey, if he assumes an air of superiority over
you, if he gives you a slap in the face. 21 I admit to my dis-
credit that, if such a one as I have here described is strong,
then we have shewn weakness in not doing the like. Still, if
anyone adopts towards you a bold tone, I (of course, I am using
the language of a fool) can do so, too. 22 Do they speak
Aramaic? I, too, speak Aramaic. Are they Israelites? I, too,
am an Israelite. Are they the posterity of Abraham and the
inheritors of the promises which he received9 I am the same.
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I am speaking like a man
demented) I can make the like claim on better grounds. I
have toiled to an exceptional extent. I have suffered imprison-
1 Cf. Phil. 4. 15-16. 2 See Apocalypse of Moses, 17.
/// COR. ( = 11 COR. 11. 24-12. 7) 107
men I exceptionally often. I have endured lashes beyond the
average. I have been at death's door repeatedly. 24 From
Jews I have received forty lashes (all but one) on no less than
five occasions; I have been three times beaten with rods by the
Romans ; I have been stoned on one occasion ; I have been ship-
wrecked thrice ; I have spent a night and a day floating on the
deep; 26 I have been on many a journey, in perils from flooded
rivers, in perils from brigands, in perils from kith and kin, in
perils from heathen, in perils within the city, in perils away in
the desert, in perils on the sea, in perils among false Brothers.
*32 In Damascus the Viceroy of King Haretas picketed the
gates of the city of the Damascenes for the purpose of arresting
me> 33 a°d it was only by being lowered in a rope-basket
through an opening in the city-wall that I escaped his clutches.
27 I have suffered from toil and stress; I have spent many a
sleepless night; I have suffered from hunger and thirst; I have
lacked food again and again ; I have been cold and ill-clothed ;
28 and in addition to such out-of-the-way trials, there is the daily
pressure that is brought to bear upon me — anxiety for all the
Churches. 29 Who is over-sensitive, and I do not share his
misgivings? Whose spiritual progress has been impeded by
others, and I — yes, I — do not burn with indignation? 30 If I
have to boast, I will boast only of what shows up my weakness.
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He Who Is
(Blessed may He be for ever!), knows that I am speaking
nothing but the truth.
i I am bound to boast. Though it is not a profitable
proceeding, still I will go on to speak of visions and
revelations granted by the Lord. 2 I am acquainted with a man
in union with Christ, who thirteen years ago — whether in the
body, or rapt in spirit out of the body, I cannot tell, God alone
knows — was carried away — this person of whom I speak — as far
as the third of the Seven Heavens. I know also that this- person
— whether in the body, or rapt in spirit apart from the body, I
cannot tell, God alone knows — 4 was carried away into Paradise
and heard things ineffable, too sacred for human lips to utter. 5
Of such a person's experiences I am prepared to boast; but of
myself — my ordinary self — I will not boast save in regard to my
weaknesses. 6 Yet I am not bound to be so reticent, for, if I
should choose to boast, I shall not be a vainglorious fool for
doing so, for it will be only the truth that I shall speak. I
refrain, however, partly to prevent anyone from forming an
estimate of me higher than is justified by what he sees in me or
hears from me, and partly by reason of the extraordinary nature
of the revelations made to me, which baffle description. 7 Con-
sequently, that I might not become unduly exalted in my own
1 For vv. 27-31 see below.
108 /// COR. ( = 11 COR. 12. 8—21)
estimation, there was given to me a physical malady, acute as
a thorn sticking in my flesh, an angel of Satan's to assail me,
that I might not (/ repeat) become unduly exalted in my own
self-esteem. 8 About this I have thrice appealed to the Lord
that it might be withdrawn from me; 9 but He has told me,
" Sufficient for you is the Favour which I have bestowed upon
you, for Divine Power is most fully displayed where human
nature is feeblest." 10 So instead of wishing my weaknesses
away, I will gladly boast of them, in order that the Power of the
Christ may spread its shelter over me. n Therefore I find
satisfaction in weaknesses, in outrages, in hardships, in persecu-
tions, in difficulties, for Christ's sake ; for whenever I am weak,
it is then that I am full of power.
12 I have made a fool of myself by saying all this, but it
was you who drove me to it. For I ought to have had a good
word from you who know me by experience, since in no respect
did I fall short of those super- Apostles, though I am really a
nobody. The signs attesting a true Apostle were wrought by
me amongst you, accompanied by unfailing steadfastness — by
Signs and Wonders and displays of exceptional Power. 13 In
what respect did you come off worse, through having me as your
minister, than the rest of the Churches who had other Apostles
to serve them, except that I refused to be a drain upon your
resources and provided for myself ? Forgive me this wrong !
14 Listen : this is the third time that I am ready to come to
you ; but if I come, I will be no drain upon your resources ; for
it is not your money but your selves that I want, since it is not
the children's duty to put by for the fathers, but the fathers'
duty to put by for the children. 15 I will most gladly spend
and be spent to the utmost for the good of your souls. If I love
you so exceptionally, am I to be loved the less in return? 16
You admit that I was not a heavy burden to you ; but being
constitutionally crafty (you say) I made you my prey by trickery,
through agents acting for me! 17 Was it any of those whom
I sent to you — was it by one of them that I took advantage of
you? 18 I appealed to Titus to visit you, and with him I sent
the Brother; was it Titus who took advantage of you and made
something out of you? Were not he and I in our conduct
animated by the same spirit? Did not we walk together, step
for step? 19 I suppose that you have been thinking all this
long time that we are making a defence to you. In reality, what
we are saying, we say in union with Christ before the presence of
God ; and all of it, Beloved, is for the sake of improving
your characters. 20 For I fear lest S9mehow, when I come, I
may find you other than I could wish, and you may find me
other than you could wish — I mean that I fear that there may
be among you exhibitions of quarrelling, jealousy, bad temper,
selfishness, slander, backbiting, self-conceit, and disorder — 21
lest, when I come, my God may again humiliate me, when I am
/// COR. ( = 11 COR. 13. 1—11) 109
with you, by shewing my pride in you to be ill-grounded, and I
should have to mourn over many who have sinned in the past,
and have not repented over the impurity and immorality and
dissoluteness in which they have indulged.
"I O i This is the third time that I am coming to you and 1
JLO shall hold an enquiry; " by the evidence of two or three
witnesses every allegation must be sustained."1 2 As I gave
warning beforehand, when I was present with you for the second
time, so I give warning in advance now, though absent from
you, to those who have sinned in the past, and to all the rest
of you, that if I come again, I will not spare any offender, 3
seeing that you want proof of the Christ Who speaks in me,
and Who, in dealing with you, shews no weakness but displays
His power among you. 4 For though He was crucified in con-
sequence of human weakness, yet He is now fully alive in
consequence of the Power of God. And the same is true of us;
for we, too, in union with Him, shew weakness, when we
patiently endure provocation; but together with Him, risen as
He is to renewed Life, we also shall prove ourselves fully alive,
in consequence of the Power of God, for dealing severely with
you, should it be necessary. 5 It is yourselves, not me, that you
must test, to see whether you are really rooted in the Faith ;
it is yourselves that you must place under examination. Or do
you fail to recognize that Jesus Christ is in you, to enable you
to overcome your temptations, unless, indeed, you have been
put to the test and failed under it? 6 But I hope that you
will discover that we, on our part, if put to the test to decide
whether we have the power to deal with you, are no failure.
7 We pray to God, however, that you may do no wrong merit-
ing punishment, for we do not want you to do wrong just in
order that we, when put to the tost, may be shewn to be equal
to it. We want you to do what is right, even though our
ability to stand the test will then be unproved. 8 fror it is im-
possible for us to oppose the facts, whether our possession of
power is demonstrated or not: we can only support the facts.
9 For we rejoice .whenever you, by shewing yourselves possessed
of moral power, leave us with the reputation of being weak.
This, indeed, is what we pray for — your amendment. It is for
this reason that I write as sternly as I am doing, when away
from you, in order that when I am with you, I may not have
to act sternly, in virtue of the authority which the Lord gave
me — gave me, I say, for the purpose of fortifying your characters
and not of demolishing you.
ii Finally, Brothers, farewell; pursue self-amendment;
respond to the appeals I have made to you ; agree together ; live
in peace; and the God, Who is the Source of Love and Peace,
1 Dt. 19. 15.
110 /// COR. ( = 11 COR. 13. 13—14). FR. TIT. ( = TIT. 3. 12—15)
will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss of
concord. 13 All God's Hallowed People here send you their
remembrances.
14 The Favour bestowed by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
Love towards men shewn by God, and the sense of Fellowship
imparted by the Holy Spirit be with you all.
A FRAGMENT OF AN EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
TITUS
( = TITUS 3. I2-I5.)1
This fragment has been plausibly brought into connection with
the occasion of the trouble in the Corinthian Church which in 55
had caused St. Paul to write the Letter of which 11 Cor. io.-i3-
formed part (p. 103). Alter Timothy had left Ephesus (Acts 19. 22)
en route for Corinth, but either had never reached that city or had
failed to deal successfully with the trouble there, the Apostle had
despatched Titus from Ephesus to Corinth with the Letter just
mentioned; and, starting himself for Macedonia, had hoped to find
Titus at Troas, bringing with him a good report of his mission.
He did not, however, fall in with him there (// Cor. 2. 13), but
met him later in Macedonia (// Cor. 7. 6). The Letter, of which
this fragment is a part, was presumably written from Macedonia to
Titus when the latter was in some place (perhaps Ephesus) whither
he had returned from Macedonia, and whence he is asked to help
Apollos on a projected journey to some unknown destination.
3*12 When I have sent to you Artemas or Tychicus, do your
best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend
the winter there. 13 Take pains to help on their way Zenas the
theologian, and Apollos; and see that they want for nothing.
14 Let all who belong to us also learn to make good works their
business, with a view to meeting urgent calls, in order that they
may not prove unproductive. 15 All who are with me send you
their kind regards. Remember me to those who love us, united
as we are by our common faith. The Favour of Heaven be with
you all.
1 The reasons for detaching this section and others from the
Pastoral Epistles are explained on p. 542. 2 For Tit. i.
1-3. ii see p. 558.
A FRAGMENT OF A FIRST EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
TIMOTHY1
( = 11 TIM. 4. 13-15, 20, 2i».)
The fragments here pieced together appear to have formed part
of a Letter written by St. Paul in Macedonia to Timothy at Ephesus,
whither the latter had seemingly returned after preceding the Apostle
into Macedonia, as related in Acts 19. 22. When St. Paul started
on his journey to Macedonia, he stopped at Troas (// Cor. 2. 12, 13),
and appears to have left there some articles which he here desires
Timothy to bring with him when he, too, should call at the same
port in the course of a second voyage to Macedonia to rejoin the
Apostle, in whose company he was when the latter wrote II Cor. i. i.
The allusion to Alexander the metal-worker finds its explanation in
the incidents that occurred before the departure of St. Paul from
Ephesus (as related in Acts 19. 28-41), where the defence attempted
by another Alexander (who was a Jew) may well have been made at
the expense of St. Paul and his fellow-Christians.
If verses 20, 21* are rightly attached to vv. 13-15, it appears
that Erastus, named in Acts 19. 22 as despatched with Timothy to
Macedonia, had gone from thence, or from some intermediate locality,
to Corinth. How Trophimus, whom St. Paul had apparently in-
tended to take with him to Macedonia, came to be left at Miletus
can only be conjectured ; but it has been ingeniously surmised that
the Apostle did not start for Macedonia from Ephesus by sea (since
the outlet to the sea was liable to be silted up), but went by land to
Miletus on the coast (S. of Ephesus), where he took ship alone,
leaving Trophimus behind.
42I3 When you come to me, bring with you the cloak which
I left at Troas with Carpus, and the papyrus-rolls, and
especially the parchments. 14 Alexander the metal-worker dis-
played towards me much malice. The LORD will requite him as
his conduct deserves; 15 you, too, must be on your guard
against him, for to all our arguments he has offered great
opposition.
32o Eratus stopped at Corinth, but Trophimus I left at
Miletus in weak health. 21* Do your best to come before
winter.4
1 See p. 542 f. 2 For // Tim. i. 1—4. 12, see pp. 554, 184, 557,
184, 183. s For vv. 16-19 see pp 156, 185. 4 For vv.
2ib, 22* see p. 185.
Ill
A FRAGMENT OFTHEFOURTH EPISTLE OF ST, PAUL
TO THE
CORINTHIANS
( = 11 COR. i.-9)
St. Paul's indignant Letter to the Corinthians, of which it is
thought that // Cor. 10. — 13. forms part (p. 102), produced its intended
effect upon those to whom it was despatched. Amends were made by
the majority of the Church to him for some insulting treatment which
he had sustained at Corinth (2. 5-11); and the changed attitude of
most of his converts there (as reported by Titus) caused a revulsion
of feeling in the Apostle, and evoked from him the affectionate
language which, in general, marks // Cor. i. — 9. This Letter (of
which the section 6. 14 — 7. i is probably no original portion (p. 74)
shows at the end of ch. 9. no trace of a formal conclusion (contrast
/ Cor. 16. 19-24), so that, if its separation from ch. 10. — 13. is justi-
fied, it may have been mutilated at the end, this causing the attach-
ment to it of the earlier (and likewise fragmentary) Letter 10. — 13.,
which has a conclusion but no introduction. The place of origin was
an unnamed town in Macedonia (8. i ; 9. 2) ; and the date was some
period late in the autumn of 55 The Letter was carried by Titus
and two other friends of St. Paul (conjectured to have been Timothy
and Luke, // Cor. 8. 16, 18, 22) ; and was followed by another visit
on the part of the Apostle to Corinth, where on this occasion he
spent three months (Acts 20. 3).
The theory adopted here, which divides II Cor. into two parts
and reverses the order in which ch. i. — 9. and 10 — 13. now stand to
one another, is not altogether free from difficulties. Thus in 10 if.
St. Paul's ground of complaint is that his authority was belittled by
a group of people, whereas 2. 5-11 implies that some single individual
had behaved with great insolence towards him, though to such a
one no reference is made in ch. io.-i3. But the theory assumes that
each part is only a fragment ; and it is not unreasonable to suppose
that, if the two Letters to which they originally belonged had been
preserved in their entirety, this and other obscurities would be
cleared up.
11 Paul, an Apostle, by God's will, of Christ Jesus, and
Brother Timothy, to the Church of God which is in Corinth,
together with all God's Hallowed People throughout the whole
of the Province of Achaia : 2 Favour be yours, and Peace from
God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the compassionate Father and all-comforting God, 4 Who com-
forts us in all our affliction, so that we are able, in turn, to
comfort those who are also in affliction of any kind, with the
113
IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 1. 5—18) 113
same consolation with which we ourselves are solaced by Him.
5 Because just as the sufferings of the Christ overflow upon us,
so it is through the Christ that the comfort which we experience
also overflows upon others. 6 If we encounter affliction, it is
in the promotion of your comfort and Salvation ; and if we
receive comfort, it is to augment your consolation, which evinces
itself in the steadfastness that you display under the same suffer-
ings as we also endure. 7 So our hope for you in regard to the
future is solidly grounded, since we know that, just as you are
participators in our sufferings, so you will likewise participate
in our consolation. 8 For we wish you to know, Brothers, in
regard to the affliction which befell us in the Province of Asia,1
how we felt the crushing weight of it to be far beyond our capacity
to sustain, so that we despaired even of life. 9 When we asked
ourselves what the end would be, we told ourselves that the
answer was " death " — the presentiment of it being designed to
teach us not to place trust in ourselves but in God, Who raises
the dead to Life. 10 From so menacing a death He rescued us,
and will do so again. In Him we have placed our hope that
He will continue to rescue us, u whilst you, too, co-operate, on
our behalf by your supplications for us, in order that the gracious
boon of our preservation, granted to us through the prayerful
efforts of so many persons may become the subject of thanks-
givings on our account rising from as many lips.
12 7 feel that I can reckon on your prayers. For our proud
boast is this — and the witness of our conscience bears us out —
that we have conducted ourselves in the outside world, and
especially in our relations with you, with^the purity and sincerity
of motive which God requires, in dependence not on worldly
wisdom but on the Favour of God. 13 For when we write to
you, we mean nothing except what the words that you read
say, or what you actually recognize to be true (there is nothing
to be read between the lines), and will, we hope, recognize to the
end, 14 just as you, or at least part of you, have actually recog-
nized that we are ~with good reason your pride, evert as you,
too, will be ours, in the Day of our Lord Jesus.
15 And it was through entertaining this confidence that I
intended to go to you before journeying elsewhere, in order that
you might have the satisfaction of two visits — 16 I intended
to take vou on my way to Macedonia and to return from
Macedonia to you, and so be set forward by you on my way to
Judaea. 17 In forming that intention, then, can it be that I
was not serious? or, because it was not carried out, are my
plans to be regarded as marked by the levity characteristic of
the world, so that with me " Yes, I will," and " No, I will
not " follow each other with scarcely a moment's interval f 18
As surely as God is faithful, I swear that our language to you
1 See Acts 19. 23 foil.
114 IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 1. 19—2. 11)
is never, «• Yes, I will " and " No, I will not " in almost the
same breath. 19 For Christ Jesus, the Son of God, Who was
proclaimed among you by us — by Silvanus and Timothy and
myself — never alternated between an affirmation and a negation :
His words have proved to be a consistent affirmation. 20 For
all the promises of God have in Him been re-affirmed; and
consequently it is through Him, too, that, in our worship, our
Amen, acknowledging this, is uttered by us to the Glory of
God. 21 And He Who brings us, together with you, into stead-
fast union with Christ, and has anointed us to our office, is God,
22 Who with His Seal has stamped us as His own, and has
put into our hearts His Spirit as a pledge of what He will give
us hereafter.
23 But I invoke God as my witness — and my soul will answer
for it if I assert what is untrue — that it was only* to spare you
distress that I did not visit Corinth again. 24 In saying " spare,"
I do not imply any wish to domineer over your faith ; on the
contrary, we are just fellow-workers with you, to increase your
joy in believing; for it is by your own faith that you are stand-
ing firm.
21 But for my own sake I made up my mind to this — not to
pay you a second painful visit ; 2 for if it is I who pain
you, there is none to cheer me but the very people who are
pained by me. 3 And I wrote as I did, explaining that I was
not coming, in order that I might not, by coming, expose myself
to pain at the hands of those who ought to occasion me joy,
convinced as I am in regard to you all that any joy that is
mine is likewise the joy of you all. 4 For it was under con-
ditions of acute distress and anguish of mind, and with many
tears, that I wrote to you, not in order to cause you pain, but
in order to let you understand the exceptional love that I feel
towards you.
5 If a certain person has occasioned pain, he has pained
not me only but likewise all of you, at least in some measure
(that I may not exaggerate). 6 Sufficient for such a person is
the penalty that has been inflicted by the majority of you, 7 so
that, instead of treating him with further severity, you should,
on the contrary, forgive and comfort him, to prevent him from
being overwhelmed with excess of remorse. 8 Wherefore I
appeal to you to give practical effect to your love for him. 9 For
my object in writing was this — to ascertain how your loyalty
to me would stand the test — to see whether you were sub-
missive in every respect. 10 When you forgive a man any
fault, I also forgive him. For what I have forgiven (if I have
anything to forgive) I have forgiven for your sakes, with the
consciousness of doing so with Christ's eyes upon me, n that
we may not be over-reached by Satan, for we are not unac-
quainted with his devices.
IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 2. 12—3.7) 115
12 But how I felt the estrangement between us you may
judge from this. When I came to Troas, to spread the Good
News of the Christ, though a promising opening presented itself
for work in the Lord's cause, 13 I had no relief from spiritual
anxiety, in consequence of my failure to find there my Brother
Titus. So I did not stay, but bidding farewell to the people
there, I started for Macedonia. 14 And for what occurred after-
wards I give thanks to God, Who at all times conducts us
(through our union with Christ) in the train of His triumphant
progress; and through our agency makes perceptible in every
place the perfume that comes from the knowledge of Christ;
15 because we waft abroad for God the sweet fragrance of Christ
alike among those who are in the way to Salvation and among
those who are on the way to perdition, 16 the latter finding
in the Good News which they reject an Odour emanating from
Death and conducing to Death, and the former finding in the
same Good News, through acceptance of it, an Odour emanating
from Life and conducing to fuller Life. To such responsibilities
as these who is equal? 17 We trust that we may prove so, for
we are not, like the majority, hucksters, hawking for gain
God's Message ; but as men animated by sincerity, as men
belonging to God, and conscious of God's immediate Presence,
in union with Christ, we tell that Message.
31 Are we, by saying this, again beginning to commend our-
selves, a.s we are told we do '* or can it be that we need, like
some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
2 It is you who are our letter of recommendation — it is written
on *your* hearts — recognized in your conduct, and road by all
men, 3 for you are making it clear that you are a Letter com-
posed by Christ and penned by us, a Letter written not with
ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, on tablets, not of
stone, but of flesh — on human hearts.
4 Such, .profound confidence in the success of our work among
you we base on God through the Christ. 5 We do not mean
that, in reliance upon our own judgment, we are competent
to form conclusions about it, as though such competence came
from ourselves. No, our competence to form them comes from
God, 6 Who likewise has rendered us competent ministers in
connection with a " covenant " of a new type, consisting not
in a written Code of Law but in a stimulating Spirit; for a
written Code, through it\ commands which are beyond our ability
to obey, is a source of death, whereas the Spirit, through the
moral power which it imparts, is a source of revival. 7 And if
a religious system, written and engraved on stones, though it
was deadly in its consequences, yet came into existence under
such conditions of glory that the children of Israel were unable
to gaze steadily on the face of Moses, on account of the glory
116 IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 3. 8—4. 6)
radiating from it1 (a glory which was fading), 8 must not the
religious system mediated through the Spirit be attended with
still greater glory? 9 For if the religious system issuing in con-
demnation for men was glorious, the religious system which
sets men right with God must be transcendently glorious. 10
For that which was once invested with glory has now relatively,
by reason of the glory that transcends it, lost its glory, n For
if that which was transient was attended with glory, much more
must that which is permanent be surrounded with glory. 12
Having, then, such a hope concerning the new system, we
speak without reserve. 13 We have no need to imitate Moses,
who used to put a veil over his face, to prevent the children
of Israel from gazing steadily at the fading of a radiance which
was transient.2 14 The Israelites ought to have understood
what such transitonness implied, but they jailed to do so: their
perceptions were dulled. For even up to the present time, when-
ever the Scriptures of the Old Covenant are publicly read, a like
veil upon the minds of the hearers remains unlifted, because
only through union with Christ can it be removed. 15 Yes, up
to the present time, whenever the Books of Moses are read, a
veil rests upon their minds; 16 though whenever a listener
turns to the Lord, the veil is withdrawn. 17 Now, by the Lord
is meant the Spirit ; and where the Spirit ^exercises lordship,*
there is freedom. 18 And all we Believers, with unveiled face
mirror Him Who is the Glory of the LORD, and so v become
essentially transformed into the same Divine Likeness (which
we previously only reflected), passing from one degree of glory
to a higher — even such glory as radiates from One Who is Lord
and Spirit.
41 For this reason, being entrusted with the administration
of this religious system (such a trust evincing the mercy
shewn to us), we do not lose heart. 2 We repudiate the secrecy
in which discreditable courses of action find a screen : we do not
conduct ourselves with craftiness, nor do we tamper with God's
Message; but by stating the Truth openly, we seek to commend
ourselves before God to every conscientious mind. 3 But if the
Good News which we proclaim is really veiled to any, it is
veiled only in the instance of those who are on the way to per-
dition : 4 in their case the God of this Age has blinded their
rrfinds, unbelievers as they are, so that they cannot discern
clearly the illumination proceeding from the Good News, which
manifests the Glory of the Christ, Who is the Likeness of God.
5 (For it is not ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord that we pro-
claim, and ourselves we regard simply as your bond-servants
for Jesus' sake). 6 Because God, Who said " Out of the dark-
ness shall light shine "a is He Who has shone within our
hearts, to enable us to illumine others with the knowledge of
the Glory of God, radiant in the face of Jesus Christ.
1 See Ex. 34. 29, 30. 2 Ex. 34. 33, 35*. a Gen. i. 3.
IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 4. 7-5. 7) 117
7 But this precious treasure we have in fragile vessels of
clay, in order that the transcendent Power manifested may be
seen to be God's, and not to originate from us. 8 This Divine
Power supports us in all our troubles. At every point we are
hard pressed, but not reduced to straits; bewildered but not
finally baffled; 9 persecuted but not abandoned to our perse-
cutors; struck down, but not mortally wounded. 10 At all
times, wherever we, go, we shew in our body marks of the same
persecution to death which Jesus sustained, in order that there
may be seen in this same body of ours proof of Jesus1 Risen
Life also, n For alive though we are, we are always being
surrendered to death for the sake of Jesus, in order that in our
mortal frame there may be evidence of Jesus' Life also. This
Life extends through us to you, 12 so that while Death
is active in us, Life is active in you. 13 And since we have the
same spirit of faith as he of whom it stands written, " I had
faith; consequently I spoke,"1 we, too, may say, " We have
faith; consequently we also speak"; 14 since we know well
that He Who raised to Life Jesus will raise to Life us also, to-
gether with Jesus, and present us, in company with you, to
Him. 15 For everything that we do or experience is in your
interest, in order that God's Favour, multiplied by reason of
the thanksgiving arising from the increasing number of Be-
lievers, may abound to God's further Glory. 16 Accordingly we
do not lose heart ; and though our outer self is continually decay-
ing, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For our
present light burden of affliction is achieving for us, in a trans-
cendent and incomparable degree, a solid and eternal weight of
glory. 18 For we keep before us not the things which are seen,
but those which are not seen ; for the things which are seen
are transitory, but those which are not seen are Eternal.
51 For we know that if this body of ours, our earthly tene-
ment, forming our temporary shelter, is broken up, we
get, instead, a structure from God, a" tenement made by no human
hands, eternal in the Heavens. 2 For, indeed, in this our
present habitation we sigh, through our longing to put on over
it our habitation from Heaven — 3 seeing that, once we are
covered, we shall not, at death, find ourselves exposed. 4 For we
who are still in our temporary shelter sigh under a weight of
anxiety, inasmuch as our desire is not to be divested of the one
covering, but to put on the other over it, that what is mortal
may be merged in Life. 5 For He Who has prepared us for
this very transformation is God, Who gave us the Spirit as a
pledge of it. 6 Therefore being of good courage at all times,
and knowing that, while we are resident in the body, we are
absentees from the Lord 7 (for our course here has to be guided
1 Ps. 115. i, Sept ( = 116. 10, Heb.).
118 IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 5. 8—6. 2)
by faith, not by what is visible) — 8 we are of good courage, I
say, and would be well content to become absentees from the
body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Consequently our
ambition, too, is to be acceptable to Him, whether we are at
home or absentees. 10 For all of us must appear without dis-
guise before the judgment-bar of Christ, in order that each may
receive requital for the deeds done by means of the body, accord-
ing to his conduct, whether it has been good or base.
ii It is, then, as knowing how greatly the LORD is to be
feared, that we try to conciliate men (to use the words of our
censors); and though they may suspect our sincerity, yet to
God our motives are plain enough, and I hope that they are
equally plain to your conscientious minds. 12 We are not again
seeking to commend ourselves to you, as some people say we
do, but we are affording you good grounds for expressing pride in
us ; in order that thereby you may be in a position to confront
those who boast of superficial advantages merely, and are in-
different to what is within and is more essential. 13 For if, as
some represent, we were on certain occasions out of our mind,
it was from passionate devotion to God, and if we are once more
in our senses, it is to serve you. 14 For we are overmastered by
the love manifested by the Christ, judging as we do that, inas-
much as One died for all, then all died; 15 and that He died
for all in order that those who live should no longer live for
themselves but for Him, Who for their sake died and was raised
to Life again. 16 Accordingly henceforward our estimate of no
one is determined by external considerations ; and though in the
past we have formed our ideas of Christ from external con-
siderations, at any rate now our ideas of Him are determined by
such considerations no longer. 17 So if anyone becomes united
to Christ, he is a fresh Creation ; the original conditions have
passed away ; mark ! they have been replaced by new conditions.
18 But all such new conditions originate from God, Who has
reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has entrusted to
us the duty of dispensing to others this offer of reconciliation,
19 to the effect that God in Christ was reconciling the world to
Himself, not reckoning against men their transgressions ; and
He has committed to us Apostles the Message of such reconcilia-
tion. 20 On behalf of Christ, then, we come to you as ambas-
sadors, in the conviction that God is making appeal to you
through us. On behalf of Christ we entreat you ; be reconciled
to God. 21 Him Who had no acquaintance with sin God for
our sakes treated as an embodiment of Sin, in order that we,
on our part, might become, through union with Him, an embodi-
ment of the Righteousness that God desires.
61 And we, working together with God, likewise appeal to
you to see that you have not received God's Favour without
result 2 (for He declares,
IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 6. 3—7. 9) 119
" At the time for acceptance I heard thee,
And in the day for deliverance I succoured thee."1
Listen ! now is the time for ready acceptance. Listen ! / say :
now is the day for deliverance). 3 We try to avoid causing
hindrance to anyone's spiritual progress, that our ministry may
not incur discredit. 4 In every way we endeavour to commend
ourselves as ministers of God should do, by unfailing steadfast-
ness; by enduring afflictions, hardships, sore straits, 5 lashes,
imprisonments, mob violence, toils, sleepless hours, lack of food;
6 by purity of motive, by knowledge, by forbearance, by kindli-
ness, by holiness of spirit, by unfeigned love, 7 by communicat-
ing the Truth, by evincing the Power bestowed by God. We have
in our integrity the soldier's equipment for both attack and
defence. 8 We experience alike honour and ignominy, calumny
and good repute ; we are regarded as impostors, and yet prove
honest men ; 9 we are ignored, and yet meet with recognition ;
we are at death's door, yet, as you see, full of Life; we undergo
chastisement, yet we do not die under it ; 10 we suffer from
grief, yet are always joyous ; we are needy, but enrich many ;
we have nothing, and yet we possess all things.
ii Our lips have been unlocked to speak to you, Corinthians.
Our heart is opened wide to receive you into it. 12 If you feel
any sense of constraint, the cause is not in us, but in your own
bosoms. 13 Now for a fair deal (I speak as I might to children) ;
let your hearts also be opened wide to take us in.'*
72 Make room for us in them. There is no one whom we have
wronged (as has been represented); there is no one whom we
have corrupted ; there is no one whom we have overreached. 3 In
saying this I imply no censure of you. How could I? for I have
told you before that you have a place deep down in our heart ; so
that we are linked together for death and for life. 4 I can use great
frankness when addressing you ; I speak about you with great
pride. 1 am filled \\ith the comfort of ivhich you have been the
source; amidst all our trouble I overflow \\ith the joy which you
have occasioned. 5 Our trouble, I say — for even when we
reached Macedonia, the physical strain upon us was not relieved.
We met with trouble in every direction ; outwardly I had con-
flicts; inwardly I had fears. 6 But He Who comforts the dejected
(I mean God) comforted us by the arrival of Titus ; 7 and not
merely by his arrival but also by his account of the comfort which
he had experienced at your hands ; for he reported to us your
longing for us, the expression of your sorrow, your warm sup-
port of me ; so that my joy was enhanced. 8 Because, if I did
distress you by my letter, I do not regret it ; if I was actually
inclined to regret it when I saw that that letter had grieved you,
(though it was but for a while), 9 yet I am now glad that I wrote
1 Is. 49. 8. 2 For 6. 14—7- i, see p 75.
120 IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 7. 10—8. 8)
it, not because you were grieved by it, but because your grief re-
sulted in your repentance. For you were grieved in the way that
God approves, so that you were none the worse for any act of ours.
10 For the grief which God approves promotes a repentance
which is never to be regretted, issuing, as it does, in Salvation;
whereas the grief which the world feels results in Death, n
For, as you see, this very grief which you have experienced —
such grief as God approves — what solicitude for me it roused in
you ! what efforts to clear yourselves ! what a sense of indigna-
tion for what had occurred! what fear for the consequences!
what longing for me! what warm support of me! what dealing
out of justice to the offender! In every way you shewed your-
selves to be innocent in the matter. 12 If, then, I did write to
you with sternness, it was not so much to ensure punishment for
the wrong-doer, or satisfaction for the wronged, as to bring
home to your consciousness before God the reality of your solici-
tude for us. 13 This is what fills us with comfort. And in
addition to the comfort which we have experienced, we have
derived special joy from the joy felt by Titus, at the relief to
his feelings occasioned by all of you ; 14 because, if I have
spoken with pride to him about you, I have not failed to be
justified. No! as everything we have said to you has been true,
so our proud language about you in Titus' presence has also
proved true. 15 And his affection warms towards you more
particularly when he recalls the submissiveness which you all
shewed — how you received him with apprehension and nervous-
ness. 16 I rejoice that in every respect I can feel re-assured
about you.
81 Now we wish to bring to your knowledge, Brothers, the
Favour of God that has been bestowed upon those who are
included in the Churches of Macedonia. 2 Under a severe ordeal
due to affliction, their overflowing joy, coupled though it is with
extreme poverty, has its outlet in their rich generosity. 3 I can
testify that to the full extent of their capacity, yes, even beyond
their capacity, 4 they spontaneously begged of us, with a most
earnest appeal, the privilege of sharing in the despatch of relief
for God's Hallowed People at Jerusalem. 5 They not only
came up to, but even exceeded, my expectations. First of all, by
God's will they gave themselves to the Lord; and then they
placed themselves at our disposal. 6 Accordingly this led us to
appeal to Titus to complete among you this gracious work also,
just as it was he who started it. 7 And as you give, in every
direction, lavish proof of faith, power of speech, spiritual know-
ledge, and unbounded earnestness, and of the love which, origi-
nating with us, evokes response from you, so take care to give
equally ample proof of your liberality in carrying out this gracious
work.
8 I am not dictating to you, but am merely seeking to test,
IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 8. 9—24) i21
by comparison with the earnestness of others, the genuineness
of your own love. 9 For you know the graciousness of our Lord
Jesus Christ — how for your sake He became poor, though He
was so rich, in order that, through His becoming poor, you might
become rich. 10 In this matter, I am only giving you my judg-
ment, not a command. The course which I suggest is for your
interest, inasmuch as you led the way not only in actually
putting the work in hand but also in resolving to undertake it
as far back as last year, u Now go on to complete the work
which you have put in hand, in order that the completion of it,
according to your means, may match your readiness in resolving
to undertake it. 12 For so long as the readiness to give can
be taken for granted, a man is acceptable to God according to
the proportion his gift bears to what he has, not to what he
lacks. 13 My aim is not that the burden should be relaxed for
others and made oppressive to you, 14 but that on balance }our
superfluity on the present occasion should meet their deficiency,
in order that on another occasion their superfluity in turn should
meet your deficiency, that so a balance may be struck (just as it is
written about the gathering of the manna, " He that had much
had not too much, and he that had little had not too little ").*
16 Thanks be to God Who has put into the heart of Titus
the same interest in you that I cherish, 17 because he has
welcomed my appeal ; and being by constitution more than ordi-
narily zealous, he has spontaneously depaited to join you. 18
We are sending with him as his companion the Brother whose
efforts in the diffusion of the Good News are eulogized through-
out all the Churches. 19 And more than this — he has also been
elected by the Churches to be our fellow-traveller to Jerusalem
in connection with this Benefaction which we are administering
for the promotion of the Lord's glory and a proof of our own
enthusiasm. 20 In sending Titus and his companion we are
safeguarding ourselves against the possibility of anyone passing
reflections upon us in connection with this munificence, which
we are administering; 21 for we must have a care for what
is honourable not only in the eyes of the LORD but also in the
eyes of men. 22 And with these two we are sending our Brother
whose earnestness we have proved by experience in many causes
op many occasions ; and he is the more earnest now in conse-
quence of the great confidence which he reposes in you. 23 As
for Titus, if information about him is needed, he is my partner
and associate in my work for you ; and as for our other Brothers,
if they are the subjects of enquiry, they are delegates from the
Churches, and bring glory to Christ. 24 Therefore in the face
of the Churches which they represent, furnish them with a
demonstration of your love, and justification for the proud lan-
guage which we have used about you.
1 Ex. 16. 18; verbally divergent.
122 IV COR. ( = 11 COR. 9. 1-14)
91 Indeed, as regards the supply of relief for God's Hallowed
People it is superfluous for me to write further to you ; 2
for I know your enthusiasm, about which I proudly inform the
Macedonians \n order to enhance your credit, explaining that
you in Achaia have had your preparations made a year ago;
and it was your fervour that stimulated the majority of them.
3 But that my proud language about you may not prove in this
respect ill-grounded, I am sending the Brothers to ensure that
your preparations are completed, just as I represented that
they would be : 4 for fear lest, if Macedonians should come
along with me when I next visit you, and find you unpre-
pared, we (not to speak of yourselves) should be filled with
shame for such confidence having been placed in you and dis-
appointed. 5 I, therefore, have thought it necessary to appeal
to the Brothers to go to you in advance, and get into order
beforehand your promised bounty, that it may be ready in good
time — as a real bounty should be, and not produced at Ihc last
moment, as something extorted from you. 6 Remember this:
he who sows scantily will also reap scantily, and he who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7" Lot each give just
what in his own mind he has proposed to give; there must be
no feeling of reluctance or sense of compulsion, for it is "a
cheerful giver that God loves."1 8 And God can enable every
gracious Favour to be yours in abundant measure, in order
that you, having in every respect at all times enough for your
own emergencies, may be abundantly supplied with means for
promoting every kind service (9 just as it is written, of the
liberal man,
" He hath scattered broadcast, he hath given to the poor,
His almsgiving continueth for ever ").2
10 Now He that lavishly provides seed to the sower and bread for
our eating will provide and multiply the seed for your sowing,
and augment the harvest-yield of your charity, u You will be
enriched in every direction for the exercise of every form of
generosity, such as evokes, through us as your agents, thanksgiv-
ing to God; 12 because your discharge of this religious function
not only helps to make good the deficiencies from which God's
Hallowed People are suffering, but also redounds to the honour
of God through a chorus of thanksgivings from those who are
benefited. 13 In consequence of the proof of what you are,
which is furnished by your discharge of this service, they are
led to praise God both for your taking upon your shoulders the
obligations imposed by your confession of faith in the Good News
of the Christ, and also for the generosity displayed in your
contributions for them and for all. 14 They themselves in their
supplications on your behalf express their longing for you, on
1 Prov. 22. 8% Sept.; slightly divergent. 2 Ps. in. 9, Sept.
( = 112. 9, Heb.).
NOTE ON Q 123
account of the transcendent Favour which God has bestowed
upon you by inspiring in you such liberality. Thanks be to God
for His inexpressible Boon.1
NOTE ON A HYPOTHETICAL DOCUMENT
SYMBOLIZED BY Q
It has been already stated (p. i) that the earliest N.T docu-
ments are Letters and not Historical narratives; and probably all
the Pauline Epistles precede in date the compilation of the earliest
of the surviving Gospel histories. But there are reasons for think-
ing that an historical work, recording much of the Teaching and
some of the Events in the Life of the Lord, was also produced prior
to any of the existing Gospels , and it is desirable to indicate briefly
here the grounds upon which this conclusion depends.
The historical writings contained in the New Testament, if they
were not in all cases the work of Jews, were composed, at any rate,
by men who were deeply influenced by Hebrew literary traditions,
sharing, in general, the intellectual outlook of the Hebrew historians,
and following the same methods of writing. A Hebrew compiler of
an historical narrative had no sense of literary property (which has
grown up in modern times largely through the expense due to print-
ing). It was the custom of such a writer to incorporate in his own
compositions any portions of a predecessor's work of which he desired
to make use; and to embody these with little alteration, and with no
acknowledgment of the source from which he had borrowed. This
appears from the occurrence, in certain O.T books, of various parallel
passages, which are so similar in matter and wording that it is
clear that the author of one is indebted to the author of the other,
or that both have drawn upon the production of a third. Notable
examples are the existence (a) in the books of Chronicles of long
passages which also appear in the books of Samuel and Kings (cf.
/ Ch. 10. 1-12 with / Sam. 31. 1-13; / Ch. 19. with // Sam. 10. ;
II Ch. 9. with / Kg. TO. ; and II Ch. 18. with / Kg. 22 1-35), and
(b) in Isaiah and in Micah of a section couched in virtually the same
language (see Is 2. 2-4; Mic. 4. 1-3). In cases where such parallel
passages occur in writers separated widely in point of time, and
where, in one of the two passages compared, there are features of
matter or style offering a contrast to the surrounding context, there
can be little doubt that the later of the two authors has made use
of the earlier, this being the obvious explanation in the instances
cited under (a). Where, however, the interval between the books
in which the parallels appear is short, or the books are nearly con-
temporaneous in origin, the natural inference is that the two writers
1 For II Cor. 10.— 13 , see p. 104.
124 NOTE ON Q
have borrowed in common from a predecessor, or else that the pas-
sages have been interpolated at a later date in one of the works
that contain them.
The N.T. writings wherein there have been incorporated much
material from earlier sources are the First and Third Gospels. In
both these are found two groups of passages, (a) one coinciding
largely in matter, and, to some extent, in diction, not only with one
another, but also with certain of the contents of St. Mark's Gospel;
(b) the other coinciding closely in substance, and to a slightly less
degree in phraseology, between themselves, but having no parallel
in St. Mark. The relative measure of agreement and divergence can
only be adequately estimated after an extensive examination of the
parallels in question ; but instructive instances are the following : —
(a) Mt. 9. 4-6 =Mk. 2. 8-1 1 = Lk. 5. 22-24
Mt. 19. 13, \^ — Mk. 10 13-14 — Lk. 18. 15-16
Mt. 21. 25-27 — Mk. n. 30-33 =Z£. 20. 4-8
(b) Mt. 6. 25-26 = Lk. 12 22-24
Mt. ii. 4-1 1 = Lk. 7. 22-28
M*> 23- 37-39= I**- 13- 34-35
The similarity here apparent is too remarkable to be due to acci-
dental coincidence in the language employed by independent authors
when composing accounts of the same events or discourses. In the
case of (a) it is impossible to doubt that Mk. is the source from
which the writers of Mt. and Lk. have borrowed : it is the shortest
Gospel and has been expanded. In the instance of (b) the explana-
tion of the common element in Mt. and Lk. is not quite so obvious.
At first sight, the simplest conclusion might seem to be that one of
the two Evangelists has drawn from the other. But the use by both
of Mk. (if the date of that Gospel is probably not earlier than 65,
see p. 196) renders it unlikely that many years divided the origin
of Mt. from that of Lk. ; and if so, it is not probable that the author
of either has been indebted to the work of the other. In these cir-
cumstances the most plausible alternative is to suppose that both
have embodied parts of a document that no longer exists. This
hypothetical document is usually denoted by the symbol Q (the
initial of the German word Quelle, meaning " Source "). About
the nature and scope of it there is room for much speculation. The
first impression formed from a scrutiny of its contents is that it
consisted mainly of Sayings of Jesus. But it comprised some amount
of narrative, including matter relating to the mission of John the
Baptist, and Jesus' Temptation ; and as this material would be in
place only at the beginning of a history of our Lord's ministry, the
original document may have been, in plan, a Gospel, which either
was never completed, or else underwent extensive injury. Never-
theless, the real scope of it must remain quite obscure, since any
reconstruction of it from the parts of Mt. and Lk. assignable to it
is likely to be as misleading as would be a reconstruction of Mk.
from the portions of it comprised in Mt. and Lk. That Q was not
NOTE ON Q 125
a compilation of material drawn directly from oral traditions is ren-
dered probable from what is recorded about the early Patristic writer
Papias, who is represented as having composed an Exposition of the
Lord's Oracles. The Greek word translated " oracles " (Logia) sug-
gests "speeches" or "sayings" (cf. I Pet. 4. n; Heb. 5 12); but
there is evidence that it could be used of historical narratives, relat-
ing not only Sayings, but also the occasions when they were uttered,
for it seems to be employed in Rom. 3. 2 of the O.T. writings as a
whole. If so, then the Logia which Papias expounded may have
included both Utterances of the Lord and Incidents of His Life ; and
thus may have been the actual source from which Q was derived.
The Logia, according to Papias, were written in Aramaic by St.
Matthew the Apostle ; but before they were utilized by the First
and Third Evangelists, they must have been translated into Greek.
This inference is based on the use in Aft. 8. 8 and Lk. 7. 6 of an
unusual construction which is not likely to have occurred inde-
pendently to two writers, if each was translating for himself from an
Aramaic original
Whatever may be the facts about the relation of the Aramaic
Logia, explained by Papias, and the Greek document symbolized by
Q, the existence of the latter at an early date is virtually certain.
The sections in the First and Third Gospels which can with
some confidence be assigned to it differ in their arrangement in
Mt. and Lk. ; and it is impossible to decide positively which of
the two Evangelists follows most closely the order of the original
document. But inasmuch as the First Evangelist is prone to mass
together illustrations of our Lord's teaching (as in the Sermon on
the Mount in ch. 5. — 7., and in the series of seven allegories in ch.
13.), there is some antecedent probability that he has brought to-
gether maxims and illustrations which in Q's collection were
separated, and that Lk. retains the order of Q (though see p. 261).
Where Mt. and Lk., in matter taken from Q, are nearly at one in
phraseology, the actual wording of that source, in the Greek transla-
tion, must have been reproduced by both almost verbatim; but when
the diction varies, a decision as to which of the Evangelists best
preserves the original can only be a matter of conjecture, though it
may perhaps be presumed that the better Greek version (usually
Lkjs) is less close to it than the other
In Q itself there is no indication of either the place or the time
of its composition. But as regards the place, Jerusalem would seem
to be the locality where need for such a document would first be felt.
And in respect of the date, since in the early Church there prevailed
a confident expectation that the Divine Judgment, putting an end
to the existing World-Order, was close at hand, knowledge of Jesus'
teaching as to the conditions essential for sharing in the Dominion
of God must have seemed more important than acquaintance with the
details of His Life; and consequently there is some likelihood that
a document such as Q would come into existence sooner than Mk.
As a guess a date between 55 and 60 may be hazarded. If this date
126 ROM., INT.
is anywhere near the truth, Q may have been known to St. Mark
himself, whose Gospel, containing comparatively little of our Lord's
Teaching, was possibly composed with a view to supplementing Q
with a fuller account of the events of His ministry (cf. p. 198). But
in the case of a certain number of Sayings of our Lord, which appear
in both Mk. and Q, though with some difference of phraseology, and
which at first sight convey the impression that Mk. really used Q,
it seems probable that St. Mark did not derive these from that source,
but that they reached the authors of the two documents in question
through independent channels. Perhaps the parallel passages most
suggestive of this conclusion are Mk. 8. 38 and ML 10. 32, 33 ( = Lk.
12. 8, 9).
THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
ROMANS
(CHAPTERS i -15.)
The Church in Rome had apparently been established through
the efforts, not of some individual Apostle, but of a number of immi-
grants from Palestine, who had become Christians. The early origin
of The Epistle to the Romans is attested by the use of several of its
phiases in the writings of Clement of Rome, Ignatius and Polycarp ;
and the Pauline authorship of it is not seriously questioned. Though
in form a Letter, it is, in substance, a theological treatise. It is
exceptional among St. Paul's Letters in having been sent to a
Christian community which the Apostle, up to the time of writing,
had not visited (15. 23). The community was mainly Gentile (i. 5,
6, 13; ii. 13); but it must have included a strong Jewish-Christian
element, for which some of the arguments in the Epistle (eh. 9. — n.)
would have more interest than for a body exclusively non-Jewish. The
date and place of the composition of the Letter are approximately
determined by the allusion (in 15. 25-28) to the contribution made
" in Macedonia and Achaia " for the relief of the needy members
of the Church at Jerusalem, and the fact that the Apostle himself
was carrying it to its destination (cf. Acts 24. 17). St. Paul returned
in 56 A.D from Achaia, where he had spent three months (Acts 20.
2-3) ; and it was doubtless during this period of residence in Greece,
and probably at Corinth (the principal city of the Province), that
he wrote the present Epistle.
There are strong reasons for suspecting that the last chapter is
not part of the Letter sent to Rome, but a fragment of one addressed
to the Churqh at Ephesus. (a) The extensive list of persons to whom
the writer sends his remembrances is much more natural in a com-
munication despatched to a place like Ephesus, where St. Paul had
ROM., INT. 127
spent a long time (Acts 19. 10) and made many friends, than in one
destined for a city where he had never been, (b) The allusion to
14 dissensions " (v. 17) amongst those to whom the Apostle is writing
points to a Church with which he was well acquainted, (c) The
reference to the Church " in the house " of Pnsca and Aquila has a
parallel in / Cor. 16. 19, an Epistle written from Ephesus (p. 76),
whither these two persons had gone in company with St. Paul (Acts
1 8. 1 8, 19). The regular gathering of Christians at their house is
much more likely at Ephesus than at Rome, since of meetings at
Rome the Apostle can have known little (d) The allusion to Epaenetus
as the first-fruits of work in the Province of Asia is more appro-
priate in a Letter sent to Ephesus than in one sent to Rome. (e)
The Apostle's commendation of Phoebe would carry more weight with
a community to which he was known than with one to which he was
a stranger. (/) Ihe circumstance that ch. 15 ends with a benediction
suggests that this chapter is the real conclusion of the communica-
tion despatched to Rome On the other hand, it has to be admitted
that many of the names occurring in ch. 16 have been found in
Roman inscriptions as well as elsewhere A son of Herod the
Great, called Anstobulus (v. 10) lived at the Roman capital. A
freedman of the Emperor Claudius, Nero's predecessor, was named
Narcissus And as regards Pnsca and Aquila, though they had
been expelled from Rome by Claudius (Acts 18. 2), they may have
returned thither after his death (54 A D.). Nevertheless, if the
reasons for detaching ch 16. from the preceding fifteen chapters are
thought to preponderate, and it is regarded as part of an Epistle to
Ephesus, this also was most probably written from Corinth (see
p. 126).
It has been suggested that, though this chapter does not belong
to the Epistle to which it is now attached, it was nevertheless sent by
the Apostle to Rome after he was released from his imprisonment there
(Acts 28. 30), the two years spent in Rome accounting for the num-
ber of persons to whom reference is here made. But the view that
St. Paul was set free at the end of the two years lacks adequate
support (see p. 545).
Some MSS. attach the doxology in 16. 25-27 to the end of ch. 14.,
omitting it in its present position ; a few others (including the
Alexandrine codex) have it in both places ; whilst two omit it in both.
These facts, and the circumstance that certain Patristic writers, in-
cluding Cyprian and Tertulhan, do not comment on ch. 15., 16. have
led several scholars to infer that ch. 15. is also no genuine part of
the Epistle to the Romans. But this deduction is improbable, since
ch. 15. continues the argument of ch. 14. : though it would seem
that in some localities the Epistle was current without the passage
15. i — 16. 23, possibly through the influence of Marcion, who appears
to have excised the last two chapters, owing to his objections to the
O.T., from which quotations are introduced in ch. 15.
In a few places some verses have been transposed for the sake
of greater coherence.
128 ROM. 1. 1—18
11 Paul, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ (I was Called by God
to be an Apostle and was singled out to carry God's Good
News 2 which He had promised in advance through His
Prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 Good News concerning His
Son, Who by physical descent was born of the posterity of
David, 4 but Who, in virtue of holiness of Spirit, was designated
Son of God through an act of Power, by a Resurrection of the
dead — it is of Jesus Christ our Lord that I speak, through
Whom we have received the privilege of an Apostleship to pro-
mote among all the Gentiles (including you, too, who have been
Called to belong to Jesus Christ) the submission that springs
from Faith, for the further commending of His Self-revelation),
7 to all who are in Rome, God's Beloved, who are Called to be
holy : Favour be yours and Peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
8 To begin with, I render, through Jesus Christ, thanksgiv-
ing to my God for all of you, because the fact of your faith is
being published abroad through the whole world. 9 For in God
— to Whom I spiritually perform Divine Service by diffusing the
Good News conveyed in His Son — I have a witness to testify
how unfailingly I mention you 10 at all times in my prayers,
supplicating that somehow some day at last I may find, by the
Will of God, my way clear to go to you. n For I long to see
you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you
may be strengthened in1 your resolution ; 12 or (to put the same
thing differently) that I may find encouragement among you,
your faith and mine reacting each upon the other. 13 I want
you to be fully aware, Brothers, that I have often purposed to
visit you (though I have been prevented until now), that I may
gather a Spiritual Harvest amongst you, too, just as I have done
amongst the rest of the Gentiles. 14 Both to Greek speaking
and non-Greek speaking peoples, to intellectual and unintellectual
alike, I have a solemn duty. 15 Thus my earnest desire
is to impart the Good News to you at Rome as well as to others.
1 6 For I am not ashamed of the Good News ; for it is the Saving
Power of God for everyone who has Faith, for Jew first, and
for Greek as well. 17 For in it is revealed a right standing
with God, granted by Him in consequence of rudimentary faith,
and resulting in a more developed faith, just as it is declared
in the Scriptures, " The righteous in consequence of having faith
shall live."1
18 For apart from this Good News there is revealed nothing
but God's Wrath from Heaven against all impiety and iniquity
on the part of men who, by such iniquity, stifle the Truth which
has been intimated to them, sinning in spite of knowledge; be-
cause whatever of God is capable of being known is plain to
their consciousness, for God Himself has made it plain to them.
8 flab. 2. 4 ; slightly divergent.
ROM. 1. 20—3. 4 129
20 For His invisible attributes — I mean, His Eternal Power and
Deity— being apprehended by the intellect through the things
which He has made — have been perceptible ever since the crea-
tion of the world, so that men might be without defence, if they
should ignore them. 21 And defence they lacked, because,
though they had acquired knowledge of God, they did not honour
Him as God, or render thanksgiving to Him; but indulged in
futile speculations ; and their minds, being devoid of moral sensi-
bility, lost all spiritual enlightenment. 22 Claiming to be in-
tellectual, they became stupid, 23 and replaced the Glory of the
Immortal God by an image representing either a mortal man
or some bird or quadruped or reptile. 24 Consequently God
surrendered them, through their inward cravings, to the practice
of impurity, so that they degraded their bodies one with another;
25 since they exchanged the true Idea of God for one that was
false, and paid reverence, and rendered religious service, to the
creature instead of to the Creator (Who is to be blessed for
ever; Amen). 26 Accordingly God surrendered them, I say, to
degrading passions. For their females exchanged their natural
function for that which is unnatural ; 27 and likewise their
males, leaving the natural use of the female, grew inflamed in
their lust towards one another, male practising with male shame-
ful vice, and receiving back in their own persons the retribution
which they deserved for their moral error. 28 And just as they
abandoned the duty of retaining knowledge of God, so He gave
them up to the impulses of an abandoned mind, causing them
to do what was immoral. 29 They were loaded with every kind
of iniquity, wickedness, licentiousness, viciousness ; they were
full of envy, murder, strife, treachery, malignity; 30 they were
backbiters and slanderers, haters of God, outrageous, arrogant,
braggarts, inventors of new vices, defiant of parental control,
31 devoid of moral sensibility, false to their bond, destitute of
affection and of pity — 32 a class of men who, though well
aware of God's sentence, that they who are guilty of such
viciousness deserve Detith, yet not only themselves practise it
but even join in approval of others who do the same.
21 Consequently you, my friend, whoever you are — Jew no
less than Gentile — who sit in judgment upon your fellow-
man, are without defence, for by passing judgment upon him,
you condemn yourself, since you, who sit in judgment upon
another, are guilty of the same misdeeds as he. 2 We know
(you say) that God's sentence is passed unerringly upon all
whose practices are such as have just been described. 3 And
do you reckon, my friend — you who sit in judgment upon those
that practise such vices, but who are guilty of the same your-
self— that you, unlike them, will evade God's sentence? 4 Or do
you slight His inexhaustible kindness, long-suffering, and for-
bearance, unaware that the kindness of God only aims at lead-
130 ROM. 2. 5—23
ing you to repentance? 5 // that aim is not attained, then, in
consequence of your stubbornness and your impenitent heart,
you are storing up for yourself wrath on the day of Wrath, when
there will be disclosed the righteous Doom pronounced by God,
6 Who will render requital to each man according to his deeds —
7 to those who seek Glory and Honour and Immortality by
steadfastness in doing good, Eternal Life ; 8 whilst for those
who are animated by a spirit of selfishness, and are defiant of
the dictates of Moral Truth — obedient only to the promptings of
Iniquity — there will be Wrath and Fury, 9 Affliction and
Anguish, extending to every human soul that works evil, both
Jew — the Jew first — and Greek; 10 whereas Glory and Honour
and Peace will await everyone who does good, Jew — the Jew
first — and Greek, n for with God there can be no partiality
for one race above another. 12 For all who have sinned with-
out knowledge of a written Law will likewise perish under a
sentence unexpressed in a written Law but affirmed in their
inner consciousness; whilst all who have sinned with knowledge
of a written Law will be judged by such a written Law,1 16 on
the day when God will judge the secrets of human lives through
Christ Jesus, as the Good News which I proclaim declares. 13
For it is not those that merely hear a written Law, when read
to them, who in the estimate of God are righteous ; but it is those
that carry out the commands of Law who will stand right with
Him ; 14 for when the Gentiles, though they have not a written
Law, do, by natural Reason, what the written Law requires,
they, though lacking a written Law, are a Law to themselves,
15 inasmuch as they give proof of acquaintance with the stan-
dard of conduct required by the written Law, engraved, as
that standard of conduct is, upon their hearts, their self-con-
sciousness bearing corroborative witness, and their moral
reasonings, in inward debate, accusing, or else clearing them.
2 17 Now if you style yourself a Jew, and rely upon the posses-
sion of a written Law, and pride yourself on God, as being
peculiarly your own, 18 and are acquainted with His will, and
can single out the essentials of religion, being regularly in-
structed, as you are, out of the written Law ; iq and if you are
convinced that you are a guide to the morally blind, a source of
enlightenment to those who are in spiritual darkness, a trainer
of those who lack understanding, 20 a teacher of those who
are no better than infants, since you have in the written Law
the substance of all religious knowledge and all religious truth —
21 do you — you who teach your fellow man — omit to teach your-
self? You who proclaim that men must not steal, are you a
thief? 22 You who say that a man must not be guilty of
adultery, are you an adulterer? You who have a horror of
idols, do you rob heathen temples of their treasures? 23 You
1 For w. 13-15 see below. 2 For v. 16 see above.
ROM. 2. 24—3. 9 131
who boast of possessing a Law, do you, by your violation of
that Law, dishonour God (24 for, " Because of you the Honour
of God is defamed among the Gentiles," to quote the words
of Scripture)1 25 For though, if you carry out Law's require-
ments, circumcision is a privilege of value, distinguishing you as
a member o/ God's Chosen People, yet, if you are a violator of
Law, your circumcision has sunk to the level of uncircumcision.
26 If, then, the uncircumcised man keeps with care the
ordinances of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be reckoned
as good as circumcision? 27 Yes, assuredly; and the uncircum-
cised man, if he, though remaining as he was born, fulfils the
Law, will, by the contrast he presents to you, pass judgment upon
you, who, in spite of possessing a written Law, and being circum-
cised, are yet a violator of Law? 28 For not he who is out-
wardly a Jew is necessarily a true Jew, nor is outward, physical,
circumcision necessarily true circumcision ; 29 but only he who
is inwardly a Jew deserve* to be styled a Jew, and only the cir-
cumcision of the heart — spiritual and not literal merely — deserves
to be called circumcision. The true " praise," which the word
" Jew " implies,2 comes not from men but from God.
31 What, then, it will be asked, constitutes the superiority
enjoyed by the Jew?~pr what is the advantage of circum-
cision? 2 There is much from every point of view. To begin
with, the Jews had the privilege of being entrusted with the
Oracles of God. 3 But, it will be said, they did not credit or
obey them. Well, what follows? Supposing some were unbe-
lieving, is their want of faith to cause God to break faith?
Away with such a thought ! God must prove true to His pro-
mises, though every man be proved false (even as it is written,
" That Thou mayest be vindicated in Thy assertions,
And mayest establish Thy case when its justice is disputed ").3
5 But suppose our unrighteousness thus throws into relief God's
Righteousness, what are we to say? Can it be that God, Who
visits His anger upon us, is unjust in so doing? (I am merely
arguing in human fashion). This is impossible, since, if it were
the case, how is God to judge the world ' 7 Nevertheless (the
objector may go on) if God's truthfulness is set in clearer light
through my falsity, to the consequent enhancement of His Glory,
why am I still brought to justice as a sinner, 8 and why should
not men say (just as we ourselves are slanderously represented
as saying — just as some allege that we do say), " Let us do ill
that good may ensue "? No, such objectors fail to prove their
contention, and the sentence passed on them is deserved. 9
Well, then (it may be asked), what follows? Are we Jews, as
regards morals, excelled by Greeks? By no means; for we have
1 Is. 52. 5, Sept. ; very slightly divergent. 2 See Gen. 29 35.
3 Ps. 50. 6, Sept. ( = 51. 4» Heb.); diverges from Heb.
10
132 ROM. 3. 10—26
previously charged both Jews and Greeks with being all alike
under the sway of Sin, 10 just as it is written :
" There existeth no righteous man — not even one;
11 There is none that possesseth moral sense, or that seeketh
after God :
12 All have swerved from the straight path, and have together
become worthless;
There is none that showeth kindliness, not so much as one:1
13 Their throat, (by what they utter through it) is dangerous as
an opened grave.
With their tongues they have been treacherous,2
The venom of adders is under their lips ;3
14 Their mouths are full of bitter curses ;4
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;5
16 Ruin and misery follow where they go,
17 And with a peaceful course they have no acquaintance;6
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes."7
i Q And we know that everything which the Law (that is, the Old
Testament) says is meant for those who come within the scope
of the Law ; so that all lips are debarred from making a defence,
and the whole world becomes answerable to God ; 20 because
no human being, by doing the deeds required by Law, will suc-
ceed in standing right with Him, for Law, whether written or
unwritten, only brings about fuller acquaintance with sin, not
deliverance from it.
21 But now there has beon disclosed a right relation to God
attained independently of Law (though by the Law and the
Prophets it is attested) — 22 I mean a right relation to God
which is attainable by men through Faith in Jesus Christ,
and which extends to all Believers (for no distinction is drawn
between any, 23 inasmuch as all have sinned and feel them-
selves to have fallen short of God's glorious Righteousness). 24
Such, by His gratuitous Favour, stand right with Him through
the redemption which was effected in Christ Jesus, 25 Whom
God set forth before mankind as a means of expiation (to be
appropriated through faith) at the cost of His violent Death.
His Death was designed to demonstrate the Divine righteous-
ness, being rendered necessary on account of God's overlooking,
through His forbearance, the sins of the past, to guard against
the mistaken inferences thai might be drawn from this • 26 it
was to demonstrate (I say), at the present Decisive Time, His
Righteousness, shewing that He Himself is righteous, and that
He sets right with Himself the man whose life, in spite of his
1 Ps. 13. ib-3a, Sept. ( = 14. ib-3, Heb.) ; quoted only in part. 2 Ps.
5, 10*, Sept. ( = 5. 9b, Heb.). a Ps. 139- 4*, Sept. ( = 140. 4b,
Heb.). 4 Ps. 9. 28, Sept. ( = 10. 7, Heb.); slightly abbre-
viated 6 Prov i. 16; divergent. 6 Is. 59. 7b, 8a;
slightly divergent. 7 Ps. 35. i, Sept. ( = 36/2, Heb.);
slightly modified.
ROM. 3. 27—4. 11 133
past sins, is actuated by faith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is
room found for any claim to merit? There is no opening for
such. By what religious system is it excluded? By a system
that prescribes the doing of works? No, by a system which
enjoins Faith. 28 For we infer that a man is set right with
God through Faith, independently of works required by Law.
29 Every man, I assert; or are we to suppose that God is the
God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also?
30 Yes, of Gentiles also, if God is One, the Sole God, Who will
set right with Himself the Circumcised Jews, so far as they
have faith, and the Uncircumcised Gentiles in consequence of
their faith. 31 Do we, then, through our insistence on Faith,
nullify Law ? Far from it : on the contrary, we thereby put
on a firm basis the possibility of fulfilling Law.
41 What, then (it may be asked), are we to say of Abraham,
the ancestor from whom we Jews derive our physical
descent? 2 For if he was set right with God on account of his
works, he really has reason for claiming merit. The reply is,
Only before hi* fellow men, but not before God. 3 For what
does the Scripture say? " Abraham reposed faith in God, and
this was counted as giving him a right standing with God,"1
nothing being said about his works. 4 Now, in the case of
one who performs some meritorious work, his recompense is
not counted as a favour granted to him. but as a debt due to
him ; 5 but in the case of one who does not perform any
meritorious work, but reposes faith in Him, Who sets right with
Himself the ungodly, it is the man's faith that is counted as
setting him right with God, even as David expresses' the felicita-
tion appropriate to the man whom the LORD regards as in a
right relation to Himself, independently of anything that he has
done, saying,
11 Happy are they whose iniquities have been forgiven, and over
whose sins a veil has been drawn ;
8 Happy is the man of whose sin the LORD will not take
account."2
9 Is this felicitation, then, confined to the Circumcised only, or
does it extend to the Uncircumcised also? Certainly it extends
to the Uncircumctsed also. For we repeat that Abraham's faith
was counted as setting him right with God. 10 Now under
what circumstances was it so counted? Was he at the time
circumcised or Uncircumcised? He was then not circumcised
but Uncircumcised. n Circumcision he received later, as a
token authenticating, like a seal, his right relation to God, re-
sulting from the faith shown by him when as yet he was un-
circumcised, that he might be the spiritual forefather of two
classes, the forefather of all those who have faith, though Uncir-
1 Gen. 15. 6 2 Ps 31. i, 2, Sept. ( = 32 i, 2, Heb ).
134 ROM. 4. 12—85
cumcised, in order that a right standing with God might be
counted to them, 12 and the forefather of those of the Circum-
cised who not only have undergone circumcision but also walk
in the footprints of our ancestor Abraham's faith, which he
manifested when still uncircumcised.
13 Abraham, again, can be shewn in another way to be the
spiritual forefather of Gentiles as well as of Jews. For the
promise, made to him and his posterity, that he should be in-
heritor of the world, was not conditional on the observance of
Law but on the right relation to God that results from faith. 14
For if those who rely only upon the observance of Law are
inheritors, faith at once loses all value, and the Promise has
become illusory, 15 for the Law, once it has come into exist-
ence, brings about God's Wrath (since through human weak-
ness it is inevitably violated), whereas where no Law exists,
there can be no violation of Law either. 16 Accordingly, the
acquisition of the inheritance was made to depend on faith, in
order that the bestowal of that inheritance might be an act of
Divine Favour, so that the promise should be ensured to all the
posterity of Abraham — not to those only (the believing Jews)
who adhere to the Law as well as are actuated by faith, but
also to those (the believing Gentiles) who are actuated by such
faith as Abraham's, who is the spiritual forefather of us all (17
in accordance with the declaration in the Scriptures, " I have
made thee a father of many nations "J.1 That faith was shown
by him in the presence of the God in Whom he reposed faith,
the God Who makes the dead" live, and issues His summons to
non-existent things as though they were already existing. 18
Abraham, hoping against hope, manifested such faith that he
became the forefather of many nations, fulfilling the Divine
declaration, " As numerous as the grains of sand or the stars
shall thy posterity be."2 iq He noted the condition of his own
physical powers, by this time decayed (since he was about a
hundred years old), and the decay of Sarah's capacity for bear-
ing children, but he did not grow weak in his faith ; 20 and in
view of God's Promise, he allowed no distrust to cause him to
falter, but, through his faith, he was endowed with vigour,
rendering, as he did, glory to God, 21 and feeling assured that
what God has once promised He is able also to perform. 22 There-
fore his faith was counted as putting him in a right relation to
God. 23 And the fact that it was so counted was placed on
record not merely for his honour 24 but also for our instruc-
tion ; for the like faith will be counted as putting us in a right
relation to God — us, I mean, who repose faith in Him Who
raised to Life from among the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 Who
was surrendered to death to atone for our trespasses, and was
raised again to Life to enable us to stand right with God.
1 Gen. 17. 5. 2 Gen 15. 6.
ROM. 5. 1—16 136
51 Standing, then, in a right relation to God in consequence of
our faith, let us continue to enjoy peace with Him through
our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through Whom we have obtained also
access to that position of Divine Favour which we occupy ; and
let us exult on the strength of our hope of sharing at last in
God's Glory. 3 Nay, more : let us exult, too, in our very afflic-
tions, knowing that affliction produces steadfastness, and stead-
fastness produces a sterling character, and a sterling character
produces hopefulness; 5 and such hopefulness as ours does not
disappoint; because a sense of God's love for us floods our
hearts through His bestowal upon us of Holy Spirit, 6 if, as is
the case, whilst we were yet morally helpless, Christ at the fitting
Time died for the sake of the ungodly. 7 For the sake of the
ungodly, notice; for scarcely will anyone die for the sake of
even a righteous man, though for the sake of the ideally good
man some one may perhaps even bring himself to die. 8 But
God gives proof of His own spontaneous love for us through
the fact that, whilst we were still sinners, Christ died for our
sake. 9 If He did this for us then, how much more certainly
now shall we, having been set right with God in consequence
of His violent death on our behalf, be saved through Him from
the Divine Wrath. 10 For if, when we were hostile to God,
we were reconciled to Him through the Death of His Son, with
how much greater certainty, now that we are reconciled, can
we look forward to being saved through sharing His Life!
ii Nay, more; even under our present conditions we exult in
what God has dqne for us through our Lord Jesus Christ, to
Whom we owe our reconciliation.
12 Accordingly, there is a parallel between Adam and Christ.
As through one man Sin entered the world, and through Sin
Death, and so Death has extended to all the human race, inas-
much as all have sinned ; so through one man there was estab-
lished a right relation to God, and through that right relation.
Life. 13 All men, I say, have sinned, for Sin was in the world
before, and up to, the delivery of a written Law. Sin, indeed,
is not entered against the sinner at its full sinfulness, if there is
no written Law ; 14 nevertheless, Death reigned from the time
of Adam to that of Moses, even over those who had not sinned
after the analogy of Adam's violation of an express com-
mand: so Adam prefigures Him Who was to come. 15 But
though there is a parallel in respect of the transmission of con-
sequences, yet otherwise the transgression of Adam and the
Boon brought by Christ do not correspond in the extent of their
consequences. For if through the transgression of the one
man, Adam, the mass of mankind died, yet the Favour of God
and the Free Gift, bestowed by the graciousness of the One Man,
Jesus Christ, brought to the mass of mankind good far exceed-
ing the evil occasioned by Adam. 16 And the gratuitous Gift
does not correspond to the result of the one man's sin in the
136 ROM. 5. 17—6. 10
nature of the consequences either. For whereas the Divine
judgment, ensuing upon the one man's sin, issued in a sen-
tence of doom, the Boon, ensuing upon many transgressions,
issued in a pronouncement of acquittal. 17 For if by the one
man's transgression Death reigned through that one man, Adam.
how much more certainly will those who receive God's trans-
cendent Favour and gratuitous Gift of a right relation to Him-
self reign in Life through the One Man, Jesus Christ! 18
Therefore, it seems, just as through a single transgression the
consequences extended to all men, resulting in a sentence of
Doom upon them, so through a single act of righteousness the
consequences have extended to all men, resulting in God's setting
them right with Himself, and bestowing upon them Life. 19
For as through the insubordination of the one man the mass of
men were constituted sinners, so through the submissiveness of
the One Man the mass of men will be constituted righteous.
A written Law was introduced incidentally, in order that the
Sinfulness of transgression might be enhanced ; 20 but where
Sinfulness was enhanced, Divine Favour exceeded all bounds,
21 in order that, as Sin exercised dominion, occasioning universal
Death, so Divine Favour might exercise dominion through the
establishment of a right relation to God, resulting in eternal
Life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
61 What practical conclusion, then, shall we draw? Are
we to continue in sin that the Divine Favour extended to
us may be proportionately greater? 2 Away with such a sug-
gestion ! How are we who have died potentially to Sin, and
so have finished with it, to live any longer in it? 3 Do you
not understand what I mean ? Or are you unaware^hat .all of us,
who have been baptized into union with Christ, were in baptism
made sharers in His Death? 4 Therefore we, sharing His Death
through our baptismal immersion, were with Him laid in the
grave, in order that, as Christ was raised to Life from among
the dead, through His Father's glorious Power, we, too, might
pursue our course in the possession of fresh Life. 5 For if we
have become one with Him (as a graft becomes one with a tree-
stock) through an experience corresponding to His Death, we
must equally be one with Him through an experience correspond-
ing to His Resurrection also : 6 recognizing that our old Self
was crucified with Him, in order that our sinful bodily cravings
might be suppressed, so as to enable us to escape further bond-
age to Sin. 7 For he that has died is at once quit of Sin. 8 And
if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall also
live with Him, 9 knowing as we do that Christ, after having
been raised to Life from among the dead, does not die again :
Death no longer exercises any mastery over Him. 10 For His
experience of death ended once for all His contact with Sin ;
whilst the Life which He now possesses is a Life devoted to
ROM. 6. 11—7. 3 137
God. ii So you, too, must count yourselves dead men who
have finished with Sin, yet fully alive to serve God in union with
Christ Jesus. 12 Do not, then, let Sin continue to exercise
dominion in your mortal bodies, making you submit to their
desires ; 13 and do not place your bodily members at the dis-
posal of Sin as its instruments for evil-doing ; but place yourselves
at God's disposal, as being in possession of true Life (raised
from among the spiritually dead), and your bodily members as
instruments for doing right in God's service; 14 for Sin is no
longer to exercise mastery over you ; for you are not under the
constraint of Law but are recipients of Divine Favour. 15
What, then, should follow from this? Are we to sin because
we are not subject to the constraint of Law but are the recipients
of Divine favour? Assuredly not. 16 Are you not aware that,
when you place yourselves as slaves at any one's disposal, to
submit to his authority, you are the bondmen of the master to
whose authority you yield submission — bondmen either of Sin,
with death as the consequence, or of Dutifulness to God with
righteousness as the consequence? 17 Thanks be to God that,
though you were once bondmen of Sin, you became with al)
your heart submissive to the1 standard of instruction under which
you were placed ; 18 and having been emancipated from Sin,
you became bondmen to Righteousness. (19 In using of you
the word " bondmen " I am employing language drawn from
the relations prevailing in human society, the analogy being help-
ful on account of your feebleness of will, which is inseparable
from your fleshly nature). For as you placed your bodily mem-
bers as bondmen at the disposal of impurity and of lawlessness,
for the perpetration of lawlessness, so now place those same
bodily members of yours as bondmen at the disposal of
righteousness, for the attainment of holiness. 20 For when you
were bondmen of Sin, Righteousness exercised no authority over
you. 21 What Harvest, then, did you garner from those deeds
of which you are now ashamed? Why, none; for the end of
such deeds is Death. 22 But now, having been emancipated
from Sin, and having become bondmen in the service of God,
you have your Harvest in progressive holiness, and at the end
Eternal Life. 23 For the wage paid by Sin is Death, but God's
Boon is Eternal Life, through union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
71 Or are you unaware, Brothers — I am speaking to persons
acquainted with the nature of Law — that the Law which
enforces a person's rights has validity only so long as that per-
son is alive? 2 For (to take an instance) the married woman
is by law bound to her husband during his life-time; but if her
husband dies, she is discharged from the obligations of the law
enforcing the rights of husbands. 3 Therefore, though, so long
as her husband lives, she will be stigmatized as an adulteress,
if she becomes another man's partner, yet, if her husband die,
138 ROM. 7. 4—16
she is no longer bound by the previous legal prohibition ; so that
she is no adulteress, if she has become the partner of another
man. 4 So, my Brothers, you, too, had your obligations to the
Law terminated by a death, not, indeed of the Law, but, of your-
selves, through the Crucified Body of the Christ, in which you
have been incorporated, being thereby enabled to become united
to Another, even to Him Who was raised to Life from among the
dead, that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when our life
was under the control of our fleshly cravings, our sinful passions,
which were stimulated by the Law through its prohibitions, be-
came active in our bodily members, causing us to bear fruit for
Death ; 6 whereas now we have been discharged from further
obligations to the Law (our relations with that which once had
a hold over us having been terminated by a symbolical death),
and we are thus enabled to serve God under fresh conditions,
empowered by Divine Spirit, and no longer, as was the case
under the old conditions, bound by a written code.
7 What conclusion, then, are we to draw from this? In
saying that your passions were stimulated by the Law, do I imply
that the Law is to be identified with Sin? Far from it. On the
contrary, it was only through Law that I learnt what Sin really
was; for (to take an example) I had no acquaintance with covet-
ousness except through the Law, which was ever declaring,
11 Thou must not covet."1 8 But Sin, getting a foothold,
through my acquaintance with the Law, produced in me, in con-
sequence of the prohibition contained in the Law, every form
of covetous desire; for Sin, independently of Law and its prohibi-
tions, is as inert as a corpse. 9 I myself once, when unconscious
of Law, was morally alive ; but when the commandment reached
me, Sin revived, and it was I who died; 10 and this very com-
mandment, which was designed to promote Life, proved, in my
case, to promote Death. n For Sin, getting a foothold, be-
guiled me through the commandment, challenging me to defy
its prohibitions, and by its means destroyed me. 12 So the Law
(so far from being identifiable with Sin) is holy, and each com-
mandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did, then, that
which is in itself intrinsically good turn out to be fatal to me?
Impossible ! It was Sin existing in me that was fatal, in order
that it might appear in its true colours as Sin, by bringing about
Death for me through what was intrinsically good; and might,
by the help of the commandment, show itself sinful in the ex-
treme. 14 For we know that the Law is spiritual in its origin;
but I am a creature of flesh, sold, like any slave, into bondage
to Sin. 15 I do not realize what it is that by my conduct I am
bringing about. I act in a way in which my true self does not
want to act ; and I do what my true self detests. 16 But if I do
what my true self does not want to do, I admit that the Law,
1 Ex. 20. 17; Dt. 5. 21.
ROM. 7. 17—8. 10 139
which forbids it, is right. 17 As the case stands, then, it is no
longer I — my true self — who am bringing about the disastrous
result, but Sin that has its dwelling in me. 18 For I know that
in me, m my other self, that is, in my fleshly nature, there dwells
nothing good. The wish to do what is right is there, but the
power to carry it into execution is not; 19 for I fail to do the
good which my true self wishes, whilst I do the evil which my
true self does not wish to do. 20 But if I do what my true
self does not wish to do, it is not I that bring about the disastrous
result, but Sin which dwells in me. 21 I draw, then, from
experience the conclusion that for me who wish to do what is
right, the rule holds that only the doing of what is wrong is within
my compass. 22 In my inmost self I sympathize whole-heartedly
with the Law of God; 23 but I observe operative in my mem-
bers a different Law campaigning against the Law of my reason,
and making me prisoner to itself — a prisoner to the Law of Sin
that exists in my bodily members. 25b Therefore in my real self
I serve with my reason the Law of God ; but with my fleshly
nature I serve the Law of Sin. 24 Unhappy wretch that I am !
who will rescue me from the grasp of this death-dealing body?
25* That rescue has been effected (thanks be to* God!) through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
81 There is, then, no sentence of condemnation now for those
who are in union with Christ Jesus. 2 For the sway exer-
cised by the Life-giving Spirit has, through my union with
Christ Jesus, emancipated me from the sway exercised by Sin,
which involves Death. 3 For what the Law could not do (its
incapacity to -vanquish Sin resulting from our fleshly nature) God
accomplished; for He, sending into the world His own Son,
with a fleshly nature like our own sin-ridden nature, to be a
Sin-offering, passed, through Christ's death in His fleshly nature,
a penal sentence upon Sin, and broke its power, 4 in order that
what is declared by the Law to be right might be realized in us,
now that our conduct is actuated not by fleshly impulses but
by spiritual influences. 5 For those who are moved by fleshly
impulses have their minds absorbed in the gratifications of the
flesh, whilst those who are swayed by spiritual influences have
their minds absorbed in the satisfactions of the Spirit. 6 And
the ensuing consequences differ profoundly. For the bent of
mind induced by the- fleshly impulses involves Death; but the
bent of mind induced by Spiritual influences results in Life and
Peace. 7 Because the bent of mind induced by the fleshly im-
pulses means hostility to God, for it is not subordinate to God's
Law — indeed, it is incapable of becoming so; 8 and those who
are in the sphere of the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you —
you who are Christ's — are in the sphere not of the flesh but of
the Spirit, if, indeed, God's Spirit dwells in you. If anyone
has not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 But
140 ROM. 8. 11—27
if Christ is in you, then, though your body is no better than a
corpse on account of the infection of Sin, your Spirit is endued
with Life because of the power of Righteousness, n And if the
Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus to Life from among the dead
dwells in you, He Who raised Christ Jesus to Life from among
the dead will endue with Life your own mortal bodies also,
through His Spirit that resides in you.
12 We, then, Brothers, are bound by obligations ; but our
obligations are not to our fleshly nature, to live in response to
its impulses. 13 For if you live as the flesh would have you live,
you are destined to die. But if by the help of spiritual in-
fluences, you deal a death-blow to the activities that originate
with the body, you will live. 14 For God's Sons are all those
who are influenced by God's Spirit. 15 For you have not re-
ceived a slavish spirit, causing you to relapse into a state of
fear, but have received a spirit such as animates adopted sons,
prompting us to cry to God, " Abba " (" Father "). 16 The
Divine Spirit itself joins with our own spirit in assuring us that
we are God's children. 17 And if we are children, then \ve
are heirs of our. Father's possessions — heirs of God and fellow-
heirs with Christ, if we really share Christ's sufferings, in order
that we may likewise share His Glory. 18 And there is no com-
panson between the pain and the gain. For I estimate that
the sufferings of the present Decisive time bear no proportion
to the Glory which is destined to be revealed in us. 19 For the
Creation awaits with tense expectancy the revelation of what
God's Sons are to be (20 for the Creation was made subject
to futility as its condition of existence, not through any wjlful-
ness of its own, but on account of him (Adam) who occasioned
such subjection). 21 The expectancy felt by the Creation is based
on the hope that it, like us, will one day be emancipated from
its enslavement to decay, and will enter upon the glorious free-
dom from such enslavement which the children of God are to
enjoy. 22 For we know that, up to the present, the entire
sentient Creation has been moaning together in pain, like a
woman in the pangs of child-birth. 23 And not only the sentient
Creation around us, but we ourselves — though we have, in the
possession of the Spirit, the first instalment of what is eventually
to be ours — we, too, I say, moan inwardly as we await the full
realization of our adoption as sons — I mean, the redemption of
our bodies. 24 For it is only in hope that we have, so far,
attained Salvation — in hope, I say, because our Salvation is
not yet within sight. An object of hope, when it comes into
sight, ceases to be an object of hope : who hopes for what is
before his eyes? 25 But if we are hoping for what we do not
yet see, then we await it with steadfastness. 26 Similarly the
Spirit also lends its aid to our weakness. Without It we do not
know what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Itself inter-
cedes for us with sighs that can find no words. 27 But He Who
ROM. 8. 28—9. 4 141
searches men's hearts needs no words to learn what occupies
the mind of the Spirit : He knows that Its intercessions on
behalf of God's Hallowed People are in harmony with the Divine
Will. 28 And we can be sure that for those who love God — for
those who have been Called in fulfilment of His Purpose — all
things co-operate for their good. 29 Because those of whom He
had foreknowledge He also singled out beforehand for trans-
formation into the essential likeness of His Son, that His Son
might be the First-born among a family of numerous Brothers,
30 And those whom He singled out beforehand for the fulfil-
ment of His purpose He has also Called ; and those whom He
has Called^. He has also set right with Himself ; and those whom
He has set right with Himself He has likewise in His ultimate
designs already glorified. 31 What, then, are we to say in view
of this? If God is on our side, who can be against us? 32
How shall He Who did not spare His own Son, but surrendered
Him to death on behalf of us all — how can He fail to bestow
freely upon us everything else together with Him? 33 Who will
arraign God's Chosen? Will God do so? Why, it is God who sets
us right with Himself. 34 Who is He that will condemn us?
Will Christ do so ? Why, it is Christ Jesus Who died, or rather,
Who was raised to Life; Who is on God's right hand, and Who
actually intercedes for us. 35 Who shall sever us from the
Christ's love? Shall affliction, or anguish, or persecution, or
starvation, or exposure, or danger, or a violent death (36 our
sufferings verifying the words of Scripture : —
" For Thy sake we are put to death the whole day long;
We have been counted as sheep destined for slaughter ")?1
37 Yet amid all these grievous experiences we are more than
conquerors through Him Who loved us. 38 For I am convinced
that neither Death nor Life, neither Angels nor Ruling Spirits,
neither the Present nor the Future ; 39 no superhuman Powers ;
nothing that is exalted in the Height above, or is lying in the
Depth beneath, or any other created thing will be able to sever
us from God's love, which has been manifested in Christ Jesus,
our Lord.
91 Nevertheless the joy occasioned by such a prospect is quali-
fied by one great sorrow. I am speaking truthfully, as one
who is united to Christ is bound to do, and am making no false
statement (my sincerity being vouched for by my conscience,
enlightened as it is by Holy Spirit) 2 when I say that I have
in my heart profound grief and ceaseless pain. 3 For I have
been inclined to pray that I myself may be banned from the
Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by blood, 4 see-
ing that they are Israelites, to whom belong the privilege of being
God's adopted Sons, the Glory symbolizing the Divine Presence.
1 Ps. 43 23, Sept. ( = Pj. 44. 22, Heb.).
142 ROM. 9. 5—19
the successive Covenants, the Divine Legislation, the System of
Divine worship, and the Promises ; 5 who have the Patriarchs as
their ancestors; and from whom by physical descent there sprang
the Christ (as a witness to my truthfulness I name Htm Who Is,
God exalted over all ; Blessed be He for ever, Amen.) 6 I am
far from implying that God's declaration about His People has
been falsified. For not all who are descended from Israel are
the true Israel ; 7 nor, because they are Abraham's posterity,
are they all, in the true sense, Abraham's children. No : God's
words to him were " only through Isaac shall be derived a
posterity that shall be known as thine."1 8 This means that
it is not the children born to Abraham in the ordinary course of
nature who are God's children, but that only the children whose
origin is due to God's Promise are counted as Abraham's
posterity. 9 For a Promise was conveyed by the Divine
declaration : " At this season, when it recurs, I will come,
and Sarah shall have a son."2 10 And this is not the only
illustration of God's exercise of His right of uncondi-
tional selection: there is likewise the instance of Rebecca,
whose twin children were begotten by the same father,
our ancestor Isaac; n for whilst the children were as yet un-
born, and before they had done anything either good or base, to
merit praise or disapproval, in order that God's purpose, pur-
suant of a selective principle, might continue to hold good — a
principle determined not by any thing that man does but solely by
the will of Him Who calls His creatures to different destinies in
this world — 12 it was told her that *' The elder shall be a ser-
vant to the younger "3 13 (even as it is recorded in the account
of their descendants, " To Jacob I have shewn love, but to Esau I
have shewn hatred ").4
14 What inference, then, shall we draw from this? Can
there be injustice with God? Assuredly not. It is God's right
of unconditional selection that is affirmed. 15 For to Moses He
declares, " I will have mercy upon whomsoever I choose to have
mercy, and I will compassionate whomsoever I choose to com-
passionate."5 16 Human experience, then, so far as it is happy,
depends not upon man's will or upon man's exertions, but upon
God, Who has mercy. The converse is likewise true. 17 For
the Scripture represents God as saying to Pharaoh : " It was for
this very end that I raised thee to high position — that I might
display in thee my Power ; and that knowledge of my Self-
revelation might be diffused in all the earth."6 18 It follows,
then, that He has mercy on whom He wills, and renders stub-
born whom He wills. 19 You will then say to me, " // so, why
does He still pass censure upon His creatures? for who has been
1 Gen. 21. i2b. 2 Gen. 18. 14; divergent and abbreviated.
3 Gen. 2$. 23. 4 Mai. i. 2, 3. & Ex. 33. 19. * Ex*
9. 16; divergent, nearer the Heb.
ROM. 9. 20—10. 2 143
able to withstand His Will?" 20 Why, who are you, O man of
earth, who make retort to God? Is the thing that is moulded
to say to Him Who has moulded it, " Why didst Thou make, me
thus?" 21 Has not the potter right over the clay to make
out of the same lump one vessel to serve for honourable use,
and another to serve for menial use? 22 And what have you to
say if God, although wishing to display His wrath and to make
known His might, has nevertheless with great forbearance put
up with vessels that are the objects of His wrath, got ready for
destruction, 23 in order to make known the inexhaustibleness
of His glorious Power towards vessels reserved for mercy, vessels
which He prepared in advance for Glory — 24 I mean us, whom
He Called not only from among Jews but also from among
Gentiles? 25 This last fact verifies what He says in Hosea : —
" Those who were no People of mine I will call my People,
And her who was not Beloved, / will call Beloved,"1
26 And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said
to them, " No People of Mine are ye,"
There they shall be called " Sons of the Living God."2
27 Isaiah, too, exclaims concerning Israel, " If the number of
the children of Israel be as countless as the sea-sand, only a rem-
nant shall be saved; 28 for the LORD will execute upon the
earth a sentence, making it final and summary."3 29 It is just
as Isaiah foretold earlier : —
" Had not the LORD of Sabaoth left to us a scanty posterity,
We should have been as Sodom, and have become like
Gomorrah."4
30 What are we to say, then, to this? Well, we say that the
Gentiles, who did not make a right relation to God their aim,
yet secured it — I mean the right relation that results from faith ;
31 whereas Israel, making their aim the fulfilment of a Law
designed to promote a right relation to God, did not attain to
the fulfilment of Law. 32 Why did they fail to secure a right
relation? Because they did not seek it a* the result of faith,
but thought it attainable as the result of meritorious works ; they
stumbled over the Stone that is a stumbling block, 33 just as
it is written : —
" Lo, I place in Zion a Stone that will prove a Stumbling-block,
and a Rock that trips the foot;
But he that reposes faith on Him will never meet disappoint-
ment."6
10
i Do not misjudge me for what I have said, Brothers.
My heart's longing and my supplication to God are for
my countrymen and the promotion of their Salvation. 2 For I
1 Hos. 2. 23; divergent. 2 ffos. i. iob ( = 2. ib, Heb.) ; slightly
divergent. 3 7s. 10. 22, 23; compressed. * Is. i. 9.
* A fusion of Is. 28. 16 and 8. 14.
144 ROM. 10. 3—17
can avouch that they are passionately zealous for God, but their
zeal lacks insight into His purposes. 3 For ignoring God's
method for their attainment of a right relation to Himself, and
seeking to establish a right relation to Him through their own
efforts, they refused to submit to the conditions imposed by God
for establishing a right relation. 4 For Christ has put an end
to Law as a means of attaining a right relation to God : this
belongs to all who have faith, and to them alone. 5 For Moses
writes of the right relation to God sought through obedience to
Law that " only the man who carries out the injunctions of the
Law shall secure Life thereby."1 6 But the right relation to God
that has faith as its basis addresses you in language like this :
" Say not in thy reflections, Who shall ascend into Heaven?"
that is, to bring Christ down from thence;2 7 or " Who shall
descend into the Abyss?" that is, to bring Christ up from among
the dead. 8 But after speaking thus negatively, what does it
say affirmatively ? " The Word to which God desireth thce to
listen is nigh thee, on thy lips and in thy mind "3 — that is, the
Word about Faith, which we proclaim. 9 Because if with your
lips you acknowledge the truth of the " Word," that Jesus is
Lord, and believe in your mind that God raised Him to Life from
among the dead, you shall be saved. 10 For in the mind there
is cherished faith, issuing in a right relation To God ; and with
the lips confession is made of such faith, leading to Salvation,
ii For the Scripture declares, " He that reposes faith on Him
will never meet disappointment."4 12 For there is no distinction
drawn between Jew and Greek. For the same Lord is Lord of
all alike, having ample resources for the needs of all who invoke
Him ; 13 for " Everyone who shall invoke the Lord, as He has
revealed Himself, shall be saved."5 14 How then (it may be
asked) are men to invoke One in Whom they have not learnt
to put faith? And how are they to put faith in One Whose
Message they have not heard? And how are they to hear with-
out someone to proclaim to them the Divine Message? 15 And
how are herald* to make proclamation, unless they have been
sent on a mission to do so? And some may contend that such
conditions have not been satisfied. But this is not so; heralds
have been commissioned and sent, even as it is written, " How
welcome is the approach of those who bring Good News of Hap-
pier things."6 16 Perhaps, however, it will be rejoined that
all did not surrender themselves to the Good News and the con-
ditions attached, and this implies some failure in the communi-
cation of it. By no means; the Good News was communicated
but disregarded; for Isaiah says, " LORD, who of us put faith in
what we heard?"7 17 Faith, then, is the consequence of Some-
1 Lev. 1 8. 5 ; modified. 2 Deut. 30. 12. * Dt. 30. 14. 4 Is.
28. i6b. 5 Joel 2. 32 ( = 3. 4, Heb.). * Is. 52. 7 (Heb.) ;
slightly divergent. 7 Is. 53. i.
ROM. 10. 18—11. 7 145
thing that is heard, and what is heard consists of a " Word "
about Christ. 18 Perhaps, however, it will be pleaded that Israel
did not actually hear what was said. But I ask, Is it possible
that they failed to hear? No :
" The Voice of the Messengers went forth into all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world."1
iq Nevertheless, it may be contended that Israel could not under-
stand what they heard. But I say, Is it possible that Israel
failed to understand? At any rate, others understood! Moses
is the first to predict,
" I will render you jealous towards those who are no nation;
Against a nation without understanding I will make you re-
sentful."2
20 And Isaiah with exceptional boldness declares : —
44 I let myself be found by those who were not seeking me;
I disclosed myself to those who were not enquiring after me."8
21 Whereas in regard to Israel he says, " The whole day long
I extended my arms in appeal to a defiant and contradictious
People."4
ni So the Jews, after all, are responsible for their rejection
of God's offer of a right relation to Himself attainable by
faith. I go on, then, to ask, Can it be that God has, in turn,
finally repudiated His People? No such suggestion can be
admitted by me. For I, too, am an Israelite, sprung from the
stock of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God
has not finally repudiated His People, of whom He took note
in advance, and His purpose, which He then had in -view, He
will not alter. Their refusal of God's offer is only partial, and
there are parallels to their present attitude in their earlier his-
tory. Are you not acquainted with what the Scripture says
in the passage containing the story of Elijah? how the prophet
pleads with God against Israel. 3 " O LORD, they have killed
Thy prophets, they have demolished Thine altars, and I alone
survive, and they' are thirsting for my life."5 4 But what
is the Divine rejoinder to him? " I have left myself seven
thousand men, who have not bent their knees to Baal."6 5 So,
too, in the present Decisive time, there has been left a rem-
nant constituted by selection through Favour. 6 But if the
selection depends on Divine Favour, it cannot turn upon any
meritorious works which those selected have done, since other-
wise Favour ceases to be Favour. 7 What, then, follows?
This — that what Israel as a whole has earnestly sought, and
still seeks, it has failed to secure ; but the selected few have
1 Ps 18. 5. Sept. ( = 19. 4, Heb ). 2 Dt. 32. 2ib; slightly modi-
fied 3 Is. 65. i ; slightly divergent. 4 Is. 65. 2 ;
slightly divergent. 5 / Kg. 19. 105 slightly divergent.
6 / Kg. 19. 18; divergent.
146 ROM. 11. 8—21
secured it, whilst the rest have become insensible to what God
has offered; 8 even as it is recorded, " God has given them
a Spirit of stupor, eyes with which they cannot see, and ears
with which they cannot hear,"1 down to the present day. 9 And
the Psalmist says,
" Let their festal board become a trap and a hunter's net to
catch them ;
Let it prove to them a pitfall and means of retribution;
10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And cause Thou their backs continually to stoop."2
11 So I proceed to say, " Can it be that their stumbling caused
them to fall beyond recovery?" By no means. But their
stumbling served a purpose : through their false step Salvation
has reached the Gentiles, in order that such a result may
rouse Israel's jealousy and eventual emulation. 12 And if their
false step has been the world's enrichment, and their spiritual
discomfiture has been the Gentiles' enrichment, how much
greater gain will ensue when that discomfiture has been more
than retrieved !
13 But to those of you who are Gentiles I have something
to say. In so far a? I am an Apostle to Gentiles, I make much
of my ministry, 14 if only in the hope of rousing to jealousy
and emulation my own flesh and blood, and so of saving some
of them. 15 For if God's temporary exclusion of them has re-
sulted in the reconciliation of the rest of the world to God, what
will the re-acceptance of them be but their restoration to Life
from among the spiritually dead? 16 And if the first handful
of the dough — I mean the patriarchs of Israel — be hallowed,3
the whole batch of it, by which I mean their collective
descendants, must be hallowed, too ; and if the root-stock of a
tree be hallowed, so, too, must the branches be. 17 And if
some of the branches have been broken off, and you Gentiles, a
shoot of wild-olive, have been grafted in among the remaining
branches of the cultivated olive, and have become sharers with
them in the rich sap rising from the cultivated olive's root-
stock, 18 do not pride yourselves upon a fancied superiority to
the natural branches. If you are inclined to do so, remem-
ber that it is not vou that support the root-stock, but it is
the root-stock that supports you. 19 You will then retort,
" Natural branches were broken off, to enable me, a slip of wild
olive, to be grafted in." 20 Aptly answered; but it was through
their lack of faith that they were broken off, and it is only
through your faith — not your merits — that you occupy your pre-
sent place. Do not be arrogant but awed. 21 For if God did
not spare the natural branches owing to their lack of faith. He
1 A fusion of Is. 29. 10, Dt. 29. 4, etc. a Ps. 68. 23, 24, Sept.
( = 69. 22, 23, Heb.) ; slightly divergent. s See Num. 15.
19, 20.
ROM. 11. 22—12. 1 147
will not spare you either, if you should be equally presumptuous:
22 See, then, in this both the kindness and the seventy of God :
towards those that fell there is manifest God's severity, but
towards you His kindness, if — but only if — you continue to
respond to that kindness of His; otherwise you, too, will be
lopped off. 23 And they also, if they do not persist in their
present want of faith, will be grafted in ; for God is capable of
grafting them in again. 24 For if you were cut from an olive
tree that is wild by nature, and were grafted, by an unnatural
process, upon a cultivated olive tree, how much more appro-
priately will these natural branches be grafted upon their own
parent olive tree !
25 And to save you from thinking too highly of yourselves,
I want you to be fully aware of this Divine Secret — that, though
a condition of spiritual insensibility has befallen Israel in part,
it will last only until the full number of the Gentiles has entered
into God's Community; 26 and when this has happened, all
Israel, stimulated by jealousy, will be saved, in accordance with
the prediction in Scripture,
"There will come from Zion the Rescuer;
He will banish impieties from Jacob.
27 And this will be the nature of the * Covenant ' which they
will receive from me,
When I shall have taken away their sins."1
28 As regards their attitude to the Good News, they became
enemies of God to promote your welfare ; but as regards the
principle of Selection they are still God's Beloved, for the sake
of the Patriarchs. 20 For God's Boons are incapable of being
withdrawn, and His Call is incapable of being revoked. 30 For
exactly as you yourselves were once disobedient to God, but have
now been shewn mercy in consequence of their disobedience, 31
so, too, they have now been disobedient in consequence of the
mercy received by you, in order that they, too, may in turn be
shewn mercy. 32 For God has allowed all comprehensively to
become disobedient, in order that He may have mercy upon
all. 33 How fathomless are the resources of God's wisdom and
knowledge ! How inscrutable are His decisions and how un-
traceable are His methods !
34 " For who has ever gained knowledge of the LORD'S mind,
or who has been His counsellor? 35 Or who has ever first
given anything to Him and has to be repaid?"2 31 None; be-
cause He is the Source, and the Stay, and the Goal, of the Uni-
verse. To Him belongs Glory for ever, Amen.
i I appeal to you, then, Brothers, by God's Compassion
shewn towards us, to present your bodies as a Sacrifice — a
Sacrifice, living, consecrated, and acceptable to God, this consti-
1 Is. 59. 20, 2ia; 27. 9a; divergent. 2 7s. 40 13; divergent.
II
148 ROM. 12. 2—20
tuting your rational system of Divine worship. 2 Do not conform
to the superficial conventions of this Age, but become essentially
transformed through a renewal of your understanding, that you
may be able to discern what God's Will for you is — the course of
action which is intrinsically good, acceptable to Him, and ideally
perfect. 3 For by the authority so graciously bestowed on me
by God, I tell every man who is *a Somebody* among you not to
let his thoughts grow presumptuous, contrary to what they
should be, but let them incline towards sober views, according
to the degree of faith apportioned by God to each. 4 For even
as in a single body we have numerous parts, and all parts have
not the same function, 5 so we, though we are a number of
individuals, yet constitute a single Body in Christ, and are sever-
ally members one of another. 6 And possessing, as we do,
God's bountiful gifts, differing according to the nature of the
endowment graciously bestowed upon us, if what we have be
a faculty for delivering inspired discourses, let us exercise it in
proportion to our faith in God's inspiration of us; 7 if it be
a capacity for practical administration, let us occupy ourselves
unsparingly with practical administration ; if a man be a teacher,
let him engage strenuously in teaching ; 8 if his function be to
exhort, let him devote himself with earnestness to exhortation;
let him who can contribute to others1 needs, do so generously ;
let him who presides over others, encourage them in their duties
by paying attention to his own ; let him who undertakes works
of mercy for the distressed perform them cheerfully. 9 Let
your love be free from insincerity. Loathe what is evil, adhere
to what is good; 10 into your spirit of brotherliness let warmth
of affection enter; where honour is in question, give preference
each to other ; 1 1 in earnestness never flag ; let fervour mark
your spiritual emotions ; let the Lord be the object of your
service; 12 let your hope fill you with joy; in your affliction
display steadfastness ; in prayer be assiduous ; 13 to the neces-
sities of God's Hallowed People make contributions; let hos-
pitality be one of your aims. 14 Bless those that persecute you ;
bless and do not curse them. 15 Sympathize with others' joys
and sorrows; 16 maintain harmony one with another; do not
let your minds be filled with arrogant thoughts, but accommo-
date yourselves to the ways of humble folk. Do not cherish a
good opinion of your own sagacity. 17 Repay to no one evil
for evil : see that the aims which you have in view are honour-
able in the eyes of all men ; 18 if possible, so far as it depends
upon yourselves, live at peace with all men ; 19 do not re-
venge yourselves, Beloved, but give scope for the Wrath of God
to manifest itself, for it is written, " To me belongeth Vengeance,
it is I who will requite,"1 saith the LORD. 20 No : " if your
enemy is hungry, help him from your dish ; if he is thirsty, give
1 Dent. 32. 35 ; divergent.
ROM. 12. 21—13. 13 149
him something to drink ; for by doing this, you will overwhelm
him with a burning sense of shame, like hot coals heaped on
his head."1 21 Do not let evil get the better of you, but get
the better of evil by goodness.
~| O i Let every individual shew subordination to superior
AO Authorities, for there subsists no Authority but such as is
under God, and the existing Authorities have been appointed
by Him ; 2 so that he who is opposed to the Authority that is
over him resists the ordering of God ; and those who resist will
bring on themselves a sentence of judgment. 3 For magistrates
are not a source of fear to *the honest dealer* but only to the
bad character. Do you wish to have no reason for fearing the
Authority that is over you? Then deal honestly, and you will
receive commendation from him; 4 for he is God's minister
to promote your welfare. But if you do what is wrong, you
have cause to fear, for it is not for nothing that he has the
power of life and death, since he is God's minister to execute
the Divine Vengeance upon the doer of what is wrong. 5
Accordingly it is essential to be subordinate to State Authorities
not only to escape the Divine Vengeance of which they are the
agents, but also from conscientious motives. 6 It is for these
same reasons that you must pay taxes, too; for State Authori-
ties are God's Officials for the furtherance of the ends I have
named, if they are constant to their several duties. 7 Render
to all persons their respective dues — taxes to him who has a
claim to receive taxes ; customs to him who has a claim to
receive customs ; deference to him who has a claim to defer-
ence ; honour to him who has a claim to honour. 8 Let no
debt remain unpaid except the debt of mutual love, which, though
paid, is ever owed. To discharge this debt is to discharge all
others, for he who loves his fellowman has satisfied the claims
of Law. 9 For the several commands, " Thou must not be
guilty of adultery," " Thou must not murder," " Thou must
not steal," " Thou must not covet,"2 and every other com-
mandment besides, whatever it be, are all summed up in this
single sentence, " Thou must love thy neighbour as much as
thyself."3 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbour, so love is a
complete fulfilment of Law. n And this you must be intent on
doing because you know about the Hour of reckoning — that
the time has already come for you to wake out of sleep; for
our Salvation is closer now than when we first became Believers.
12 The Night is far advanced, and the Daybreak is near. Let
us discard such deeds as darkness cloaks, and let us put on the
armour worn in the light. 13 Let us conduct ourselves becom-
ingly, as men who live in the light of Day, not indulging in
1 Prov. 25. 21, 22. 2 Ex. 20 14, 13, 15. 17; Dt. 5. 1 8, 17, ig,
21. 3 Lev. 19. i8b.
150 ROM. 13. 14-14. 13
revels and carousals, or in acts of licentiousness and debauchery,
or in quarrelling and jealousy. 14 On the contrary, become
endued with the disposition of the Lord Jesus Christ; and do
not let your thoughts be preoccupied with your fleshly nature
for the gratification of its desires.
Mi To turn to another subject — Welcome into your fellow-
ship the man whose faith lacks confidence, but not for
the purpose of discussing and criticizing his scruples* 2 One
man has such convinced faith that he eats all kinds of food in-
differently, whilst the man whose faith lacks confidence eats
only vegetables. 3 The former must not be contemptuous of the
latter; and the latter must not sit in judgment upon the former,
for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you, to sit in judgment
upon Another's servant? It is for his own Master to judge
whether, in the observance of his scruples or in 1he u±e of his
freedom, he stands upright or falls into error : indeed, he is
sure to stand upright, for the Lord is able to sustain him. 5
One man deems some particular day to be more important than
another; a second man deems all days to be alike; let each be
fully convinced in his own mind that he is right in his judg-
ment. 6 He that attaches importance to a particular day, does
so with a sense of responsibility to the Lord; so, too, he that
eats meat, eats it with a sense of responsibility to the Lord,
for he says Grace for it; and he that abstains from eating meat
likewise does so with a sense of responsibility to the Lord, and
says Grace for what he eats instead of meat. 7 For none of us
lives answerable to himself alone, or dies answerable to him-
self alone ; 8 for if we live, it is to the Lord that we are answer-
able in life; and if we die, it is to the Lord that we are answer-
able in death ; so whether we live or whether we die, it is to the
Lord we belong. 9 For it was for this end that Christ died
and came to Life again, that He might exercise lordship over
both dead and living. 10 You, who attach importance to par-
ticular days or particular foods — why do you sit in judgment
upon your brother who does not? or you who attach no im-
portance to particular days or particular foods — why do you look
down upon your brother who does? All such criticism is out
of place, encroaching, as it does, on God's prerogative; for we all
shall have to present ourselves before God's Judgment-bar; for
it is written : —
11 I swear, saith the LORD, that as surely as I live, every knee
shall bend before Me,
And every tongue shall make acknowledgment to God."1 12
So each one of us will have to give an account of himself to God.
13 Let us, then, refrain from sitting in judgment upon one
another, but rather, if we want to come to decisions, let us
1 Is. 45. 23 ; divergent
ROM. 14. 14—15. 5 151
decide on this — to avoid placing in a Brother's way anything
likely to trip him up, or ensnare him, in his spiritual progress.
14 1 am sure, and am convinced, as being in union with the
Lord Jesus, that there is nothing in its own nature religiously
defiling; for him alone who reckons anything religiously defiling,
it is really so. 15 But though you yourself do not regard any
food as defiling, still respect the feelings of those who do. For
if on account of some food which you eat, your brother's con-
science is distressed, your conduct is no longer governed by love.
Do not, by the food you eat, run the risk of ruining him for
whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let the course which
you all think good for you procure you a bad name. 17 For
the Dominion of God does not consist in partaking of, or ab-
staining from, some particular food or drink, but in uprightness
and peace and joy through the influence of Holy Spirit. 18 For
ho who, by thus surrendering his freedom, serves the Christ is
acceptable to God and wins the esteem of men. 19 Therefore
let us pursue as our aim everything that conduces to peace, and
the improvement of each other's characters. 20 Refrain from
undoing, on account of mere food, what God has wrought.
Though no kind of food really occasions defilement, yet any
kind is wrong for the man who, by eating it, becomes a ,stumb-
ling-block to another. 21 The right course for you is to avoid
eating meat or drinking wine or doing anything which puts a
stumbling-block in the way of your Brother's spiritual progress :
22 the conviction which you entertain concerning the lawfulness
of certain foods keep private between yourself and God. Happy
is the man who has no self-questionings to face in connection
with anything that in practice he sanctions. 23 But if he who
feels misgiving about eating some particular food should never-
theless eat it, he at once stands self-condemned, because, in thus
eating it, he is not acting from conviction : every action that is
not based on conviction is sinful.
"IK i We who are strong in faith ought to bear the burdens
JL^J occasioned by the misgivings of those who are not strong
in faith, instead of consulting our own pleasure. 2 Each of us
should try to please his neighbour for his good, with a view to
improving his character. 3 For the Christ, too, did not con-
sult His own pleasure, but verified in His experience what is
recorded in Scripture : — " The denunciations of those who de-
nounced Thee fell upon me."1 4 I quote these words because
everything written beforehand in the Scriptures has been written
for our instruction, in order that through steadfastness and the
encouragement afforded by the Scriptures we may retain our
hope. 5 And may the God Who is the Source of that steadfast-
ness and that encouragement grant to you harmony one with
1 Ps. 68. iob, Sept. ( = 69. Qb, Heb.).
152 ROM. 15. 6—20
another, in the spirit of Christ Jesus ; 6 in order that with unity
of heart and voice you may glorify the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Consequently admit one another into your fellowship just
as the Christ has admitted us into His, for the promotion of
God's Glory. 8 I mean, that Christ became a minister of the
covenant that was conditioned by circumcision, for the vindica-
tion of God's sincerity, to confirm His Promises pledged to the
Patriarchs; 9 and to give the Gentiles occasion to glorify God
for His mercy, in fulfilment of the recorded prediction,
" Therefore I will express gratitude to Thee among the Gentiles,
And in honour of Thy Self-revelation will make melody."1
10 And again the Scriptures say, " Be glad, ye Gentiles, with
His People."2 n And again,
" Praise the LORD, all ye Gentiles,
And let all the peoples laud Him."3
12 And again Isaiah declares : —
"There shall appear the Scion of Jesse;
And He Who ariseth to rule the Gentiles,
On Him shall the Gentiles set their hopes."4
13 And may the God Who inspires your hope fill you with all
joy and peace through the faith which you cherish, that you
may overflow with hope through the powerful influence of Holy
Spirit.
[4 Nevertheless, though I have been thus admonishing you,
I am personally convinced in regard to you, my Brothers, that,
even as it is, you are rich in goodness, stored with all spiritual
knowledge, capable even of admonishing one another. 15 Still,
by way of refreshing your memory about that which you already
know, I write to you, in part of my letter, somewhat boldly, in
virtue of the authority so graciously bestowed upon me by God
16 that I might be Christ Jesus' Officiating Minister as regards
the Gentiles, acting as sacrificing priest in connection with the
Good News of God, in order that the Gentiles may be to Him
an acceptable offering, consecrated by Holy Spirit. 17 I have,
therefore, cause for pride (being in union as I am with Christ
Jesus) in relation to the service of God; 18 for I will not ven-
ture to speak of anything except what Christ has achieved
through myself, in winning the submission of the Gentiles by
speech and act, 19 through Power manifested in Signs and
Wonders, and through Influence exerted by Holy Spirit; so
that from Jerusalem and all round, as far as Illyricum, I have
imparted the Good News of the Christ comprehensively, 20 my
sole limitation being imposed by the ambition to communicate
the Good News only where Christ's Name has not been previously
uttered, in order to avoid rearing a superstructure upon a founda-
1 77 Sam 22 50 ( = Ps. 17. 50, Sept.). 2 Dt 32. 43. * Ps. 116
i, Sept. (=117. i, Heb ). 4 Is. u. 10.
ROM 15. 21—33 153
tion laid by others, 21 and so to promote the accomplishment of
the prediction in the Scriptures,
" They shall see to whom no announcement about Him has been
carried,
And they who have not heard of Him shall understand con-
cerning Htm."1
22 This is the reason why I have been detained these many
times from visiting you. 23 At the present moment, however,
since there is no longer any scope for work in these regions, and
since I have had a longing for a number of years to visit you,
24 as soon as I make my way to Spain (for I hope to see you
as I proceed thither, and, if my longing for you be first in some
measure satisfied, to be set forward by you on my journey to
that quarter)— 25 but 7 must correct myself: at the present
moment, indeed, Tarn proceeding not to Spain but to Jerusalem,
carrying relief for God's Hallowed People there. 26 For Mace-
donia and Achaia have found pleasure in making a contribution
for the needy among God's Hallowed People in Jerusalem. 27
They have, indeed, as 7 say, found pleasure in doing so, but they
are also under obligations to them ; for if in their spiritual
blessings the Gentiles have shared, the latter are in duty bound,
in turn, to undertake the function of supplying them with
material blessings. 28 After completing, then, this duty, and
having finally, for their satisfaction, authenticated this relief as
being the Harvest of the spiritual seed which they had previously
sown, I shall depart for Spain, taking you on the way; 27 and
I feel sure that, when I come to you, I shall bring you a full
measure of Blessing from Christ. 30 And I appeal to you,
Brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love
inspired by the Spirit, to join with me in strenuous prayer to
God for me, 31 that I may be prcserxed safe from those in
Jud;ea who fail to respond to the Good News, and that my
administration of relief in Jerusalem may prove acceptable to
God's Hallowed People there, 32 in order that, when, by the
will of God, I come to you rejoicing, T may enjoy some repose
in your company. 33 The God of Peace be with you all. Amen.2
A FRAGMENT OF AN EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
EPHESUS
( = ROM. 16)
If the last chapter of the E-pislle to the Romans is rightly separated
from its preceding context (p. 126) and considered to be an inde-
pendent composition, it may either be a fragment of a larger Epistle,
1 Is. 52. 15; divergent. 2 For ch. 16. see below, p. 154.
154 FRAG. EP. TO EPHESVS ( = ROM. 16. 1—16)
or else a brief " letter of commendation " (see 77 Cor. 3. i) given
to the deaconess Phoebe (v. i). It seems to have been addressed to
the church at Ephesus; and the place where it was written was
probably Corinth (see v. i. and cf. Acts 18. 18, 19). The Gaius
who is mentioned in v. 23 was baptized at Corinth by St. Paul (7 Cor.
i. 14); and Timothy and Sosipater (Sopater) were with him when he
left Greece (Acts 20. 4).
In this fragment (if it is correctly so described) there are two
conclusions — in v. 20, and in vv. 25-27. This peculiarity is explicable
by the supposition that the Letter originally ended at v. 20 ; and that
to it there were afterwards added two postscripts, one (vv. 21-23)
partly by St. Paul and partly by Tertius, the Apostle's secretary, the
other (a doxology, vv. 25-27) by St. Paul alone.
"1 fi I I recommend to your sympathy Phoebe, our Sister, who
JLvJ is a servant of the Church at Kenrhreae, 2 in order that
you may welcome her (as one who is united to Christ) in a spirit
worthy of God's Hallowed People; and aid her in any business
in which she has need of your help, for she, on her part, has
been a protectress of many, including myself.
3 Remember me to Prisca and Aquila, my fellow-workers
in union with Christ Jesus (4 who, to save my life, risked
their own necks, and to whom not I alone render thanks, but
also all the Churches of the Gentiles), 5 and remember me to the
Church that meets at their home. Remember me to my dear
friend Epaenetus, who was the first-fruits of the spiritual Harvest
gathered for Christ in the Province of Asia; 6 to Mary, who
has toiled hard for you : 7 to Andronicus and Junias, country-
men and former fellow-prisoners of mine, who are persons
of note among the Missioners of the Church, and who became
united to Christ earlier even than myself; 8 to my dear friend
Ampliatus, who is united to the Lord; 9 to Urban, our fellow-
worker in union with Christ, and my dear friend Stachys; 10
to Apelles, who, united as he is to Christ, has been tested and
approved; to members of Aristobulus' household; u to
Herodion, my countryman ; to those of Narcissus* household
who are in union with the Lord ; 12 to Tryphsena and Tryphosa,
who are labouring in union with the Lord ; to Persis, the dear
lady, who, in union with the Lord, has toiled hard; 13 to
Rufus, that fine character, who is in union with the Lord, and
to his mother, who has been a mother to me also; 14 to
Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the
Brothers who are together with them ; 15 to Philologus, Julia,
Nereus, and the latter's sister, and Olympas, and all God's
Hallowed People, who are together with them. 16 Greet one
another with a holy kiss of concord. All the Churches of the
Christ desire to be remembered to you
FRAG. EP. TO EPHESUS ( = ROM. 16. 17—27) 155
17 I appeal to you, Brothers, to note those who, in
defiance of the teaching in which you have been instructed, are
responsible for the prevalent dissensions and the snares that
beset your spiritual progress, and avoid them. 18 For such men
do not serve our Lord Christ but are slaves to their own appetites ;
and by their plausibleness and flattery deceive the minds of the
innocent, ig / should grieve deeply if ihey influenced you, for
the report of your submission to what you have been taught has
reached everyone. I therefore have reason to rejoice over you ;
still I want you to be sagacious in respect of what is good,
but unversed in what is evil. 20 And the God of Peace will
shortly crush Satan under your feet.
The Favour of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow- worker, desires to be remembered to
you; and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my countrymen,
do the same. 22 I, Tertius, who, as Paul's secretary, am writ-
ing this Letter, desire, as one who is in union with the Lord,
to be remembered to you. 23 Gaius, my host (who extends his
hospitality likewise to the whole Church), desires the same ;
and so also do Erastus, the City Treasurer, and Brother Quartus.
25 To Him Who is able to strengthen you in your good
resolutions, as promised in the Good News which I impart, and
in the proclamation made by Jesus Christ in pursuance of the
revelation of God's Secret Purpose which, after being for long
ages left untold, 26 has now been disclosed, and, with the
corroboration of prophetic Scriptures (in accordance with the
command of the Eternal God), has been communicated to all the
Gentiles, to win from them the submission that springs from
faith — 27 to God, Who alone is wise, be glory through Jesus
Christ for ever. Amen.
A FRAGMENT OF A SECOND EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
TIMOTHY'
( = 11 TIM. 4. i6-i8a.)
This fragment, with its reference to an occasion when St. Paul
offered a defence of his faith and conduct without receiving support
from anyone, has been thought to form part of a Letter from Caesarea,
whither he was taken as a prisoner by Claudius Lysias (Acts 23.
33), The " first " defence mentioned in the letter may allude to the
speech delivered by the Apostle on the steps leading to the Castle
of Antonia in Jerusalem, as related in Acts 21. 40—22. 21 ; for though
1 See p. 545
150 FRAG. 11 EP. TIMOTHY ( = 11 TIM. 4. 16— 18*)
it might in some ways be more plausibly referred to the speech al
the trial on the following day (Acts 23.), yet on that occasion he
did not lack supporters (v. 9). If this view is right, the date will be
56, or early in 57.
4l\6 On the first ocasion when I spoke in my defence no
one supported me : all abandoned me — may their desertion
not be reckoned against them — 17 but the Lord stood by me
and endowed me with power, that through me the proclamation
of the Gospel might be widely extended, and all the Gentiles
might hear me; and I was rescued out of the Lion's Jaws.2 i8a
The Lord will continue to rescue me from every wicked deed,
and will preserve me for His Heavenly Dominion.3
THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
GOLOSSIANS
Four of St. Paul's Epistles, preserved in their completeness,
and fragments of three others date from a period when he was a
prisoner (Col 4. 3, 18; Phm. i; E$h 6 20; Phil. i. 7; 11 Tim.
2. 9 ; 4 6, 16). The Apostle is known to have been imprisoned both
at Coesarea and at Rome, the former captivity lasting two years,
between 156 and 58, and the latter at least the same length of time,
his death probably, though not certainly, occurring early in 61
(Acts 24. 27; 28 30) There is no mention of either Carsarea or
Rome in any of the Letters enumerated above; but in the case of
some there are certain allusions pointing to Rome as the place of
their origin ; and most likely six out of the seven were written
there. Of the four complete Epistles Phil, was probably the latest,
and Col. and Phm. earlier than Ej>k
Colossae, the destination of the earliest of the four Letters just
mentioned, lay on the banks of the Lycus (an affluent of the Maeander)
in the district of Phrygia (part of the Province of Asia), some 130
or 140 miles east of Ephesus Nine or ten miles to the west was
the city of Laodicea , whilst about the same distance north of the
latter was Hierapolis, the three places forming an irregular triangle
The Christian Church at Coloss«-jp was not founded by St Paul, for
though it lay on the mam route from Galatia and Phrygia to
Ephesus, the Apostle, when journeying to the latter city from the
interior, followed a road on higher ground (Acts 18. 23; 19. i). The
1 For 11 Tim. i. i — 4. 15, see pp. 554-S57- 2 Cf. Ps. 21. 22, Sept.
( = 22. 21, Heb.). 3 For vv. i8b-22 see pp. 185, in, 185, 183.
COL., INT. 157
Colossian Church owed its origin to Epaphras (Epaphroditus),
though he no doubt acted under the direction of St. Paul. The
Letter sent to the Church by St. Paul was composed under conditions
which allowed the writer scope for evangelistic work (4. 11); and
this would probably be easier at Rome than at Caesarea (cf.
Acts 28. 31 ; though see 24. 23). Moreover, Philip " the Mis-
sionary " was resident at Caesarea (Arts 21 8), but no allusion is
made to him. It is possible that the Epistle was written at Ephesus,
where the Apostle may have been confined in prison (cf. p. 176),
and where Andronirus and Junias may have shared his captivity
(Rom. 16. 7, see p. 154). But there is no actual evidence for
imprisonment at Eghesus, whereas the evidence for Cdesarea and
Rome is indisputable.
If the Roman capital was really the place of origin, the date
was probably 59. The occasion of its composition was the pre-
valence among the Colossi ans of religious views and practices which
the Apostle deemed erroneous, and sought to check There seems
to have been current a combination of Jewish legahsm (importance
being attached to circumcision and observance of the Sabbath and
of Holy Days (2. n, 16)) and philosophical speculation about the
relations of God and man (it being contended that the Deity was
separated from humanity by ranks of angels, whom it was more
fitting for men to address in prayer and worship than to approach
God Himself directly). It is not improbable that there was a
tendency to represent matter as intrinsically evil; and, m conse-
quence, to advocate an ascetic rule of life (2. 16-2^).
Though little familiarity with the contents of the Epistle appears
traceable in the earliest Patristic writers, yet it was ascribed to St
Paul by Marcion; is included as St. Paul's work in the Muratorian
Catalogue ; and was known to Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and
Ongen. Nevertheless, doubts about its authorship have been enter-
tained by some scholars, partly because the style is moie laboured
than that of the earlier Pauline Letters, partly on the ground that
the teaching against which the author argues resembles that of the
Gnostics of the 2nd century, and partly because of the author's own
advanced Christology. But a writer's style is not always quite
uniform ; and indications of doctrinal developments on the part of
an author or of those whom he opposes are (within limits) a pre-
carious means of dating a work (for the Christology of i. 15-18;
2. 9, TO, cf / Cor it;. 27; Phil. 2. 6, u); so that there appears to
be no sufficient reason for concluding that the Epistle does not
proceed from St. Paul.
The Letter was carried to its destination by Tychicus (4. 7),
who also conveyed from Rome to Asia the Epistle commonly known
as Epkestans (E-ph. 6. 21, 22), and probably the private note to
Philemon (4. 9).
An Epistle to Laodicea (mentioned in 4. 16) seems to have been
lost; but by some critics, both in ancient and in modern times, it
has been identified with Efhesians (p. 166).
158 COL. 1. 1—18
11 I, Paul, by God's Will an Apostle of Christ Jesus, and
Brother Timothy, 2 to the Hallowed and Faithful Brothers
at Colossae, who are in union with Christ ; Favour be yours and
Peace from God our Father.
3 We render thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, at all times in our prayers for you, 4 ever since we
heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love which you
entertain towards all God's Hallowed People, 5 evoked, as it
is, by what you hope for, stored up for you in the Heavens.
About the object of your hope you had previously heard in the
Message of the Truth embodied in the Good News, 6 which
has reached, and is influencing, you, just as it is producing re-
sults, too, in all the world besides, and extending its range.
This it has been doing amongst you, from the day when you
first heard of it, and through it recognized God's Favour to-
wards you in its reality. 7 This is in keeping with what you
learnt from Epaphras, our beloved fellow-servant. He is a
faithful minister of the Christ, acting on our behalf. 8 It is he
who acquainted us with the love which you, through the in-
fluence of the Spirit, feel towards us. 9 Consequently we, on
our part, ever since the day we heard about your faith, have
not ceased to pray for you, entreating that you may (with the
help of all spiritual wisdom and insight) fully attain to such a
comprehension of God's purpose 10 as will enable you to con-
duct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord, and to please
Him in every way, producing plentiful results in carrying out
every good work, and increasing in that comprehension of God
of which we have spoken, n We pray that by Him (in virtue
of His exercise of His glorious Sovereignty) you may be endued
with the utmost capacity for displaying cheerfully all steadfast-
ness and forbearance, 12 giving thanks to the Father, Who
has qualified us for our share in the allotted Inheritance (within
the Sphere of Light) assigned to God's Hallowed People.
13 For God has rescued us from the dominance exercised
by the Powers of Spiritual Darkness, and transferred us to the
Dominion of His Son — the Object of His love — 14 in union
with Whom we have our Redemption — the forgiveness of our
sins. 15 He is the very Likeness of the Invisible God, the
Eldest-born, and so the Ruler, of all Creation ; 16 because all
things were created in Him, as embodying the principle on which
they are organized — yes, all things in the Heavens and on the
earth, things both visible and invisible, whether Occupants of
Thrones — celestial and terrestrial — Overlords, Rulers, or Authori-
ties : all things have been created through Him as their Cause,
and for Him as their End; 17 and He Himself is prior to the
Universe, and the Universe coheres in Him as a harmonious
System. 18 He is, too, the Head of the Body, that is, of the
Church, since He is its Origin, being the First-born from among
the dead, in order that He — none other — may become in all
COL. 1. 19—2. 5 159
respects pre-eminent : 19 because it was God's good pleasure
to will that the Divine Perfection should dwell permanently in
Him ; 20 and to reconcile through Him all things to Himself,
having made peace between Himself and them through the
Blood shed on His Cross — through Him, I repeat, whether they
are things upon the earth or things in the Heavens. 21 And
you, also, who were once in a state of estrangement from God,
hostile to Him in your attitude of mind (as evinced by your
wicked deeds) God has now reconciled to Himself 22 in Christ's
physical Body, through the Death which He suffered, in order
to present you holy, spotless, irreproachable before Himself. 23
This He will do, if, at least, you adhere to your faith, firmly
based upon it, and stable, never shifting from the hope con-
tained in the Good News to which you listened — Good News
which has been proclaimed among all creatures under heaven,
and for the diffusion of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 At the present time I feel joy in the sufferings which I am
undergoing for your sakes; and so far as the tribulations of the
Christ leave something lacking, I am supplying that lack in my
own person for the sake of His Body, which is the Church.
25 Of that Church I have become a minister, in discharge of the
stewardship which God has entrusted to me for your advantage,
to give full expression to God's Message — 26 that Secret
Purpose, which, though kept concealed from past ages and
generations, has now been disclosed to His Hallowed People.
27 To them God has determined to make known how inex-
haustible is the Glory to which this Secret Purpose relates, and
which is to be realized among the Gentiles. This Secret Purpose
is Christ united to you — to you Gentiles, constituting your Hope
of Glory. 28 It is He concerning Whom we make announce-
ment, admonishing every man, and instructing every man in
all wisdom, in order that we may present to God every one
perfect through union with Christ. 29 This is the end for which
I also toil, straining every nerve -to achieve it, in virtue of His
activity, which is powerfully effective within me.
21 I tell you this, for I want you to know how great the
effort is which I make on behalf of you, and those at
Laodicea, and all who have never seen my bodily features. 2
My aim in this is that their resolution may be encouraged, and
that they themselves, being welded together in mutual love, and
attaining to all the fulness of conviction which insight produces,
may acquire a comprehension of God's Secret Purpose, even
Christ, 3 in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. A I say this, in order that no one may delude you
by plausible theorizing. 5 For though I am absent from you in
body, I am associated with you, at any rate, in spirit; and I re-
joice at observing your serried array and the solid front which,
in consequence of your faith in Christ, you present to your
adversaries.
160 COL. 2. 6—20
6 Since, then, you have received the Christ, even Jesus the
Lord, conduct yourselves in the consciousness of union with Him,
7 being firmly rooted once for all, and gradually fortified by such
union, and made more and more steadfast by your faith (through
adherence to the instruction which has been given you), over-
flowing all the while with thankfulness to God. 8 Beware lest
there be any one who carries you off as his prize, through his
hollow and delusive philosophy, based on human traditions, and
having as its subject-matter the Angelic Spirits controlling the
heavenly bodies in the world around (which determine the times
and seasons required by the Law to be observed), instead of
Christ. 9 Because it is in Him that the Perfection of the God-
head dwells in its actuality ; 10 and in Him, Who is the Head
of every Angelic Ruler and Authority, you have attained to the
fulness of your Spiritual development. n In Him you have
also been circumcised with a Spiritual, not a physical, circum-
cision ; having got rid of all your fleshly body (with its crav-
ings), and not a mere part of it, by the Spiritual circumcision
effected by the Christ. 12 Or (to change the figure) you were
buried together with Christ in your baptism ; and in the same
rite you have also been raised with Him through your faith in
the activity of God, Who raised Him to Life from among the
dead. 13 And you, who were once spiritually dead by reason
of your trespasses and the uncircumcised condition of your fleshly
nature, God made spiritually alive — you, I say — together with
Christ, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 and having
cancelled the bond, which, with its regulations, was standing
against us — which was prejudicial to us, since we could not
satisfy its claims. This bond He cleared away, having nailed
it to the Cross of Christ; 15 and having rid us of the tyranny
imposed upon us by the Angelic Rulers and Authorities, He
made an open display of their defeat, triumphing over them in
the Cross. 16 Let no one, therefore, sit in judgment upon
you in regard to eating or drinking, or in connection with an
annual or a monthly Festival, or a weekly Sabbath, 17 all of
which are a mere shadow of the things that are to be : the sub-
stance belongs to, and is to be bestowed by, the» Christ. 18 Let
no one adjudge you losers in the Spiritual race, just because
he finds delight in self-humiliation, and in devotion to the
Angels, taking his stand, in defence of his practice, upon visions
which he claims to have seen. Such a man is inflated with self-
complacency, without any reason, by his unspiritual intellect;
19 instead of holding fast to the Head of the Collective Body.
It is from the Head, and from Him only, that the whole Body,
fully supplied, through the ligaments and tendons, with what
it needs, and united together by them, acquires the spiritual
development of which the ultimate Source is God.
20 If at your Baptism you died together with Christ, and
were, bv that death, liberated from the authority of the Angelic
COL. 2. 21—3. 14 161
Spirits controlling the heavenly bodies in the world around
(which determine, as I have said, the times and seasons re-
quired by the Law to be observed) why, as though you were still
living in the world and forming part of it, are you subject to
rules enjoining austerities, 21 like, " Do not handle this
thing," " Do not taste that thing," " Do not touch the other
thing " (22 the things meant being such as are designed to
perish through use, and so incapable of affecting us spiritually)
in obedience to merely human commands and instructions? 23
These commands and instructions, though they have a repute
for being wisely devised in connection with arbitrarily imposed
religious devotions, self-humiliation, and unsparing treatment of
the body, are not really of any value for checking sensual self-
indulgence.
31 If, then, after being immersed in the waters of Baptism,
you emerged from them and were thereby symbolically
raised with the Christ, seek the things that belong to the sphere
Above, where the Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2
Let your thoughts be occupied with what belongs to the sphere
Above, not with what is upon the earth. 3 For when you were
baptized, you died to the world, and your real Life, ever since,
has been, together with the Christ, hidden from human sight in
union with God. 4 But when the Christ, Who is our Life,
shall be manifested to human eyes, then you, too, together
with Him, will be manifested in Glory.
5 Reckon as dead, then, your bodily members, which are
upon the earth, prompting to sexual immorality, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and libertinism (for this is equivalent to
idolatry) ; 6 since it is because of the prevalence of these vices
that God's Wrath is coming on the world. 7 And in the practice
of them you, too, once pursued your course, when you lived in
the atmosphere of them. 8 Now, however, you, too, like others,
must lay aside all such — anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy
talk out of your mouth ; 9 and tell no lies to one another, for
you have stripped yourselves of your old Self, together with its
practices, 10 and have vested yourselves with the new Self,
which is in process of being re-constituted, for an increasing com-
prehension of its Creator and consequent conformity to His
likeness. n In this process of renewal, distinctions such as
Greek and Jew, Circumcised and Uncircumcised, Barbarian,
Scythian, Bondman and Freeman, cease to exist : Christ is
everything and in everyone. 12 Therefore, as God's Chosen,
Hallowed and Beloved, become endued with feelings of com-
passion, with kindliness, humility, gentleness, forbearance; 13
making allowance for one another, and granting to each other
free forgiveness, should any have a grievance against any. Just
as the Lord granted to you free forgiveness, so you, too, must
grant to others the same. 14 And on the top of all these virtues
162 COL. 3. 15—4. 8
extend love, the bond which keeps together all the rest, ensuring
perfection. 15 And let the maintenance of Peace, which the
Christ desires, be the decisive consideration when there is a
conflict of impuhes within you, since it was for the enjoyment
of this that you were actually Called by God and included in One
Body. And show yourselves thankful. 16 Let what Christ says
to you through the Spirit make its home among you, with its
rich supplies of Wisdom of every kind. Instruct and admonish
ona another with psalms and hymns and inspired songs, singing
in a spirit of gratitude with heart-felt fervour to God. 17 And
whatever you do, in speech or act, do everything as followers of
the Lord Jesus, rendering thanks to God the Father through
Him.
18 You wives, show subordination to your husbands, as is
befitting, united, as you are, to the Lord. 19 You husbands,
love your wives, and do not be sharp-tempered towards them.
20 You children, submit to your parents in all respects, for such
submission, in those who are united to the Lord, is well-pleas-
ing to God. 21 You fathers, do not irritate your children by
constant fault-finding, lest they lose heart. 22 You bond-ser-
vants, submit in all respects to your earthly masters, not merely
when under their eye, as those do who are only concerned to
please men, but with undivided motive, in awe of the Lord. 23
Whatever you are doing, work at it with all your heart, as for
the Lord, and not merely for human masters, 24 being well-
assured that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance
which is your promised recompense. It is the Lord Christ
Whom you serve, 25 for the wrong-doer will receive requital
for the wrong that he has done, and with the Lord there is no
distinction drawn between one class and another.
41 Masters, deal out to your servants justice and fairness,
knowing, as you do, that you, too, have a Master in
Heaven. 2 Be persistent in prayer; when engaged in it, keep
your attention awake by thanksgiving. 3 Pray, at the same
time, for us, too, as well as for yourselves, that God may make
us an opening for His Message, enabling us to communicate the
Christ's Secret (which has actually occasioned my imprison-
ment), 4 in order that I may disclose it with the boldness with
which I ought to speak. 5 Let wisdom rule your conduct in
relation to those who are outside the Church, turning to account
at any cost every opportunity that offers for making Christ
known. 6 Let what you have to say be at all times marked
by graciousness, and yet pungently flavoured, with a shrewd-
ness that may enable you to know how you ought to answer
each enquiry about your faith.
7 All information concerning me will be given to you by
Tychicus, the beloved Brother, and a faithful minister and
fellow-servant of mine, who is, in union with the Lord. 8 Him
COL. 4. 9—18 163
I am sending to you for this very purpose, that you may have
news about us, and that he may encourage your resolution. 9
He will come to you in company with Onesimus, the faithful
and beloved Brother, who is one of your own number. They
will inform you about everything that has taken place here.
10 Kind remembrances to you are sent by Aristarchus, my
fellow-prisoner, and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (you have
received commands concerning him, " If he come to you, make
him welcome "), n and Jesus, termed Justus, both of whom
are converts fiom the Circumcised Jews. Of such these alone
have been fellow- workers with me for the extension of God's
Dominion, and have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras
wishes to be remembered to you. He is one of yourselves, a ser-
vant of Christ Jesus; and at all times in his prayers strains
every nerve on your behalf, entreating that you may stand
fast, mature in character, and fully convinced, in regard to
all that God wills, that it is for your good. 13 For I can testify
to his great exertions on behalf of you and of those at Laodicea ;
and of those at Hierapolis. 14 Kind remembrances are sent by
Luke, the beloved Doctor, and by Demas. Remember me to
the Brothers at Laodicea; 15 to Nymphe also, and to the
Church that meets at her home. 16 And when this letter has
been read among you, take steps to have it read in the Church
at Laodicea also; and see that you, too, icad the one that comes
from the latter town. 17 And say to Archippus, " Look to the
ministry which you, as one in union with the Lord, have received,
that you discharge it to the full."
18 I, Paul, send you, in my own handwriting, my kind re-
gards. Remember my imprisonment. God's Favour be with
you.
THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
PHILEMON
The Epistle to Philemon is the sole remaining complete Letter of
St. Paul's that is addressed to an individual; and as a private com-
munication it has its only parallel in the N.T. in /// Jo h. Its
genuineness was admitted by Marcion, and it is included in the
Muratonan Catalogue. Philemon, to whom it was sent, was a
resident of Colossae, who had been converted by St. Paul (v. 19),
perhaps at Ephesus (the Apostle had never been to Colossa?) ; and
Apphia and Aristarchus, who are named in the opening address,
are conjectured to have been his wife and son. The occasion of
its composition was the restoration to Philemon of a fugitive slave,
13
164, PHILEMON 1—17
named Onesimus (Col. 4. 9), who, having run away, had become
a Christian; and whom St. Paul had induced to return to his
former owner. The Epistle was written at the same time and place
as the Letter to the Colossi ans. That the two Letters are of con-
temporary date appears from the fact that in Philemon remem-
brances are conveyed from a number of persons, all of whom are
named in Col. (cf. v. 23 with Col. 4. 10, 12, 14) ; and both of them
were despatched from Rome, where the writer was in prison, and
where he had probably encountered Onesimus (the Roman capital
being the place where a runaway slave could hope to hide himself
most successfully). Tychicus (Col. 4. 7), no doubt, carried the two
Epistles, and accompanied the converted Onesimus back to Colossae.
i Paul (a prisoner for Jesus Christ) and Brother Timothy to
Philemon, our beloved friend and our fellow-worker, 2 to
Apphia our Sister and to Archippus our fellow-soldier in the
spiritual campaign, and to the Church that meets at your home :
1 Favour be yours and Peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God at all times, whenever I make mention
of you in my prayers, 5 because I hear of your love and fidelity
which you cherish towards the Lord Jesus and towards all God's
Hallowed People. 6 The purport of my prayers is that their
participation in your fidelity may, through their gaining increased
acquaintance with every good gift that is in us Believers, prove
effective in promoting Christ's Cause. 7 For I have found much
joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of God's
Hallowed People have been cheered through you, Brother. 8
Accordingly, though, in virtue of my union with Christ, I might
confidently enjoin upon you the fitting course, 9 yet" for love's
sake, being such as I am, Paul the aged, and at the present
moment also a prisoner for Jesus Christ, 10 I make, instead,
an appeal to you for my child, whose spiritual father I have
become during my imprisonment — I mean Onesimus (" Profit-
able "), ii who once was useless to you, but now is useful
both to you and to me : 12 him I am sending back to you ;
but though I say " him," it amounts to sending my very heart.
13 I would gladly have retained him with me, that he might
minister to me on your behalf during the imprisonment which
I am enduring for loyalty to the Good News; 14 but I did not
wish to do anything without knowing your judgment about it,
that your kindly act should not have the appearance of being
due to constraint, but should be perfectly voluntary. 15 For
perhaps he was parted from you for a brief while for this very
reason, that you might keep him for Eternity, 16 no longer
as a slave, but something better than a slave, a Brother beloved
• — most warmly by me, but how much more by you, both as a
fellow man and as joined to you in fellowship with the Lord ! 17
If, then, you regard me as a partner, receive him to you as you
PHILEMON 18-25 165
would myself. 18 And if he has done you wrong in anything,
or is in your debt, charge the loss to my account; 19 I, Paul,
sign the bond with my own hand; I will make it good. (I
refrain from presenting a counter-claim and saying that you owe
to me even your own soul!) 20 Yes, Brother, let me in turn
make some profit (is not Onesimus appropriately named
" Profitable "?) out of you, as being, along with myself, united
to the Lord. Give rest to my heart, through our union with
the Christ.
21 I write to you with full confidence in your compliance,
knowing that you will do more than I actually mention. 22 At
the same time prepare also quarters for me, for I hope that in
answer to the prayers of all of you I shall be granted to you.
23 Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner, united to Christ Jesus, 24
Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow-workers, send you
their kind remembrances. 25 The Favour of the Lord Jesus
Christ be with the spirit of each of you.
AN EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, OF UNCERTAIN
DESTINATION
( = EPHESIANS.)
Ephesus was the principal city in the Roman Province of Asia,
and owed its growth in importance to the advantages of its situa-
tion. Tt was built near the mouth of the river Cayster, and so
afforded easy access to Greece and the West; whilst near it, on
the south, was the valley of th^ Maeander, connecting it with many
of the chief towns in Asia Minor and Syria. It enjoyed great
fame from its possession of the Temple of Artemis, of which it
claimed to be the Sacristan (Acts 19 35). St. Paul visited it first
in the course of his Third Missionary Journey, and spent there
more than two years (circ. 52-55). It might, indeed, be expected
that with the Church which he established there the Apostle would
keep in touch by correspondence when absent elsewhere; but
whether the Letter known as the Epistle to the Ephesians was really
addressed by him to Ephesus, or is a production of St. Paul's at
all, is much debated.
Doubt concerning Ephesus as the destination of the Epistle has
been raised by the fact that the words in Ephesus (i. i) are absent
from both the Vatican and the Sinaitic MSS., and were not con-
tained in the text used by Origen; and it has consequently been
suggested that it was a circular Letter, intended for several com-
munities in different localities (such as / Peter must have been, see
i. i), and that the space where the destination was generally in-
serted was, in this instance, purposely left blank — to be filled in
166 " EPHESIANS,)J INT.
with the appropriate name in the copy meant for a particular city.
But this explanation is improbable in view of the fact that separate
Letters were sent by St. Paul to places so near one another as
Colossae and Laodicea (see Col. 4. 16). It is more likely that the
place-name has been lost, and supplied in later MSS. by guess-
work. If so, the conjecture that the Epistle was meant for Ephesus
is not very plausible : in it there are no allusions to local circum-
stances suggestive of that city, with which St Paul was well
acquainted; there are no remembrances conveyed to friends, though
the Apostle must have had many there; and it is implied in i. 15;
3. 2 that it was only through hearsay that the writer and those
to whom he was writing had received information about each other.
A preferable guess is that it was despatched to Laodicea (Marcion
called it the Epistle to the Laodiceans), a town which the Apostle
had not visited (Col. 2. i) ; and this would adequately account for
the lack of references to personal friends, as well as for the other
facts just mentioned.
The Pauline origin of the Epistle has early attestation, since it
is apparently treated as St. Paul's by Clement of Rome (d. 105).
Ignatius (d. 110-120) and Polycarp (d. 156): and it is included
among the Pauline Letters enumerated in the Muratorian Catalogue.
But its authenticity has been impugned by numerous scholars on
various grounds, (a) It presents a suspiciously close resemblance
to Col. (as shewn in the footnotes to the Translation) ; (b) its style
is exceptionally involved (for instance, the sentence that is begun
in 3. i is interrupted by a long parenthesis of more than a
dozen verses, and has to be recommenced in v. 14) ; (c) several
features of its vocabulary do not recur in the undisputed Pauline
Epistles, e.g. the heavenly sphere (i. 3, 20; 2. 6; 3. 10; 6. 12),
the devil (4. 27; 6. u, contrast Satan, I Th. 2. 18; II Th. 2. 9, etc.),
the foundation of the world (i. 4); (d) the reference to Christ's
" hallowed Apostles and Preachers " is strange from the pen of
one who was himself an Apostle. It would not, indeed, be incon-
sistent with contemporary usage if a disciple of St. Paul wrote
in his own way an Epistle conveying to a Church in which he was
interested such instruction as he believed his master would have
desired to impart; or even if he appended to it the Apostle's name.
If this is the case, the personal references in 6. 21-22 must have
been modelled on those in Col. 4. 7-8, in order to produce the im-
pression of a genuine Pauline Letter. Nevertheless, the reasons
for denying the Pauline origin of the Epistle are not quite con-
vincing. The likeness and difference between it and Col. are not
unnatural if both Letters were written by St. Paul at the same
time but to neighbouring Churches, whose needs would be in many
respects similar, though in some points divergent. The Apostle's
style of writing was not so unvarying, nor his vocabulary so limited,
as to compel the inference that the length of the sentences and the
singularity of the diction observable in Efh. are incompatible with
his authorship. And though the allusion to " the Hallowed Apostles
" EPHESIANS " 1. 1—13 167
and Preachers " is peculiar, yet St. Paul placed both of these
classes in the front rank of the agencies used by God in the Church
(/ Cor. 12. 28), and estimated highly the dignity of his own
Apostleship.
If the Epistle is really the work of St. Paul, it was composed
when he was in captivity (3. i ; 6. 20), and was carried to its
destination by Tychicus, the messenger who also conveyed the Letter
to the Colossians (cf. 6. 21 with Col. 4. 7) : it was, therefore, in all
likelihood sent, as the latter was, from Rome in 59.
11 I, Paul, by God's Will an Apostle of Christ Jesus, to
God's Hallowed People who are [in Ephesus], and who are
also Faithful through union with Christ Jesus ; 2 Favour be
yours, and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who has blessed us, through our union with Christ, with every
spiritual blessing in the Heavenly sphere. This He has done
in accordance with His choice of us in union with Him — Jesus
Christ — 4 a choice made before the foundation of the world,
with the intention that we should be holy and spotless in His
sight. In love 5 He marked us out for adoption as His sons,
thereby bringing us into relationship with Himself, through
Jesus Christ. This was in pursuance of His benevolent pur-
pose, 6 that praise might follow the glorious manifestation of
His Favour which He has graciously bestowed on us in the
Beloved. 7 It is by union with Him, Jesus Christ, that we
have, through His shedding of His Blood, our Redemption,1 the
remission of our transgressions, in keeping with His inex-
haustible Favour shown to us. 8 This Favour God has lavished
upon us in the form of Wisdom and Understanding of every
kind. 9 He has acquainted us with the Secret of His resolve —
His design for the accomplishment of His own benevolent aim,
which He purposed to secure in Christ, 10 meaning to execute
that resolve when the successive periods in the world's history
should reach their completion. That Secret aim is the gather-
ing up into a LTnity in the Christ the whole Creation, thereby
bringing into harmony all the constituents of the Universe, now
discordant, both things in the Heavens and things on the earth.2
11 In Christ, I say, in Whom we Jews have been allotted as
God's Special Portion (marked out in advance for this destiny)
in pursuance of the design of Him Who is active in all things,
12 in fulfilment of His deliberate will, that we should promote
the praise of His Glory — we who had placed hope in the Christ
prior to His appearing. 13 In Him you Gentiles also, having
heard the Message conveying the Truth — I mean the Good News
of your Salvation — and having placed faith in Him, have been
1 Cf. Col. t. 14. 2 Cf. Col. i. 20,
168 " EPHESIANS " 1. 14-2. 6
stamped as with a seal, as God's own, by the bestowal of the
promised Holy Spirit, 14 this being an instalment of our joint
Heritage, leading up to our final Redemption, which will put us
in complete possession of that Heritage, and so promote the
praise of His Glory.
15 Therefore, I, too, ever since I heard of the faith in our
Lord Jesus prevailing among you, and your love towards
all God's Hallowed People, 16 have not ceased to render thanks
for you, making mention of you in my prayers,1 17 entreating
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Him Who
is His true Glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation — I mean, ability both to comprehend the Truth your-
selves and to explain it to others — through increasing knowledge
of Himself. 18 This involves an enlightenment of your mental
vision, enabling you to realize what that Hope is which is in-
spired by His Call of you, and how inexhaustible is the Glory
attaching to the Heritage which He gives you among His
Hallowed People; 19 and how transcendently great is His
power manifested in us who have faith. That power in us is
due to the same exercise of His Mighty Sovereignty 20 as was
displayed in the instance of the Christ, when He raised Him
to Life from among the dead, and enthroned Him on His right
hand in the Heavenly sphere, 21 high above every Angelic
Ruler or Authority, or Power, or Overlord, and every Rank that
can be named not only in this transitory Age but also in the
Age to come. 22 He has reduced all things to subjection be-
neath His feet, and has given Him to the Church to be the Head
over all — 23 since that Church is His Body,2 the completion
of Him Who in every person and in every way is being made
complete.
21 You Gentiles, too, as well as us Jews, He has made
spiritually alive together with the Christ. You were spiritu-
ally dead through your trespasses and sins,3 in which you
formerly pursued your course, led, as you were, by the spirit of
the Age in this material world, and swayed by the Ruler of the
collective Powers in the Air (the seat of the spiritual Influences
that are now active in the disobedient). 3 Amongst the dis-
obedient all of us Jews likewise once lived and moved, indulging
the desires of our flesh, and carrying out the purposes of the
flesh and its thoughts ; and were by nature deserving of the
Divine vengeance, like the rest of mankind. 4, 5 Yet all of
us, spiritually dead as we were through our trespasses, God,
inexhaustible in pity, for the sake of the great love which He
had for us, made, I say, spiritually alive together with thte
Christ (it is through His Favour that you have been saved); 6
and in virtue of our union with Christ Jesus He raised us and
1 Cf. Col. i. 3, 4. 2 Cf. Col i. 18. s Cf. Col 2. 13.
" EPHESIANS " 2. 7—22 169
enthroned us with Him in the Heavenly sphere. 7 This He did
in order that, by His loving-kindness towatds us in uniting, us to
Christ Jesus, He might shew to the Ages to come how trans-
cendently inexhaustible is His graciousness. 8 For it is, I re-
peat, by His Favour that you have been saved, in consequence of
your having faith. This result is not due to your own efforts : it
is God's gift 9 (it is not the outcome of any meritorious works
that you have done), in order that no one may be proud of any
achievement of his own. 10 For His handiwork are we, created
anew through union with Christ Jesus, for the accomplishment
of such good works as God, in His designs, has made ready in
advance to be the sphere wherein we are to pursue our activities,
ii Wherefore recall the fact that formerly you, who by physical
condition are Gentiles, and are termed the Uncircumcised by
those who term themselves the Circumcised — whose circumcised
condition is due to human agency — 12 recall, I say, that you
were at that time separate from Christ, estranged1 from the
Commonweath of Israel, and outside the Covenants embodying
the Divine Promise, without hope, and without God in the
evil world. 13 But now you, through your union with Christ
Jesus — you who were once " far off," have been brought
" near "a through the Life-Blood of the Christ. 14 For it is
He Who constitutes the Peace between us — He Who has com-
bined both sections of mankind — Jews and Gentiles — into
unity, and removed the intervening partition-wall, 15 abolish-
ing by His physical death, the hostility between them con-
stituted by the legal Code of commandments expressed in
decrees, which separated Jews from Gentiles. This He did in
order that He might in His own Person create out of the two
one Single Man, constituted anew, so making Peace between
them ; 16 and might reconcile both of them to God in a single
Body — the Church-— through the Cross, having thereby (as I
have said) destroyed their previous mutual hostility. 17 He
came and imparted Good News of Peace to you who were " far
off," and of Peace to those — / mean us Jews — who were
" near,"2 18 because it is through Him that both of us, Jews
and Gentiles, have our access, in the One Spirit, to the Father.
19 Therefore you Gentiles are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but are fellow-citizens with God's Hallowed People, and belong
to the Household of God : 20 you are a Building reared upon
the foundation constituted by His Apostles and Inspired
Preachers, Jesus Christ Himself being the key-stone3 binding
the sides of the fabric together. 21 In Him every part of the
Structure is being combined together, and rises into a Holy
Sanctuary, through union with the Lord; 22 and in Him you,
too, as well as others, are being jointly built up to form a
Habitation for God to occupy through His Spirit.
1 Cf. Col. i. ai. 2/J 57. 19. 8 Cf. Is. 28. 16.
170 " EPHESIANS " 3. 1—19
31 For this reason I, Paul, the Prisoner in the cause of the
Christ, even Jesus, for the sake of you Gentiles — 2 if, as
I take for granted, you have heard of the way in which the
duty graciously entrusted by God to me for your benefit has
been discharged : 3 how it was by revelation that His Secret
Purpose was made known to me, just as I have briefly explained
before (4 by referring to what I have written, you can under-
stand, as you read, the insight which I have into the Secret
Purpose concerning the Christ), 5 a Secret Purpose1 which in
other generations than this was not made known to mankind
as fully as it has been spiritually revealed at the present time
to His Hallowed Apostles and Inspired Preachers; 6 this Pur-
pose being that the Gentiles, by union with Christ Jesus, should
be fellow-heirs with us Jews, and incorporated in the same
Body as we, and fellow-sharers with us in the Promise made by
God and communicated through the Good News, 7 in extend-
ing which I became a helper, in virtue of the Favour so gener-
ously conferred upon me by God, through the exercise of His
Power, 8 there being bestowed on me, the most insignificant
of all His Hallowed People, this Favour, — the privilege of im-
parting to the Gentiles the Good News of the resources of the
Christ, unfathomable, immeasurable in their extent; 9 and of
making clear to all men what is the Divine method of carrying
out that Secret Purpose, which in all past ages has been kept
concealed in the bosom of God, the Creator of all things, 10 His
Purpose being that at the present time there shoulcf be revealed
to the Angelic Rulers and Authorities in the Heavenly Sphere,
through the Church, the many-sided Wisdom of God, n
according to the Age-long design which He has at last carried
into effect in the Christ — even Jesus our Lord, 12 in union with
Whom we have confidence, through our faith in Him, to approach
God trustfully; 13 this leading me to beg you not to lose heart
because of my afflictions undergone on your behalf,2 for my en-
durance of them redounds to the honour of you, as being worthy
of the sacrifice involved — 14 for this reason, / repeat , I kneel
in prayer before God the Father, 15 from Whom every family
in the Heavens and upon earth, descended from a common
father, derives its character, 16 that He may enable you, in
virtue of the inexhaustible resources of His glorious Perfection,
to become strengthened powerfully in your inmost selves through
His Spirit, 17 so that the Christ may, in consequence of your
faith, make His permanent home in your hearts by love; that
you, rooted and firmly based as you are in your faith, 18 may
have ability to comprehend, together with all the Hallowed
People of God, how great is the extent — the breadth and length
and height and depth — of the Christ's love ; 19 and to know that
love (though it is beyond the range of human knowledge), to
1 Cf. Col. i. 26. " Cf. Col. 3. 13.
" EPHESIANS " 3. 20-4. 15 171
the end that you may be made complete, up to the full measure
of all God's completeness.
20 To Him Who is able to transcend all limits — to do far
in excess of all that we request or imagine, in virtue of His
Power which is active in us — 21 to Him be Glory through the
life of the Church, and its union with Christ Jesus, for all genera-
tions throughout all Ages. Amen.
41 I, therefore, the Prisoner (in consequence of my union
with the Lord), appeal to you to conduct yourselves in a
manner worthy of the Call which you have received. 2 Let your
behaviour be marked by the utmost humility and meekness ; and
by the forbearance that allows for each other's frailties in a spirit
of love.1 3 Be intent upon preserving, by the bond of Peace,
the unity created among you through the presence of the Spirit.
4 There is but One Body and One Spirit, just as one Hope was
inspired in you all by the Call which you received. 5 There is
one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; 6 One God and Universal
Father, Who rules over all, works through all, and is immanent
in all. 7 And to every one of us there has been committed some
function as a token of Favour, proportionate to the extent of the
Bounty bestowed on each by the Christ. Therefore the Scripture
says : —
" When He ascended in triumph on high, He led captive a train
of captives,
And gave gifts to men."2
9 What does the expression " He ascended in triumph " imply
but that He had previously descended to this lower earth to toil
and suffer? 10 He that descended a second time to this lower
earth to bestow gifts is the same as He Who had previously
ascended above all the seven Heavens, in order that He might
fill the Universe with His presence, n And it was He Who
gave to the Church some to be Apostles, others to be Inspired
Preachers, others to be Missionaries, others to be Pastors and
Teachers, 12 for the equipment of God's Hallowed People, with
a view to the work of ministering, and the invigorating of
Christ's Body, the Church, 13 until all of us collectively attain
to the unity arising from faith in, and increasing knowledge of,
the Son of God, and reach mature Manhood — that standard of
development which is presented by the completeness of the Christ.
14 The aim of all Ihis is to prevent us from being any longer
immature, like children ; tossed about, like sailors afloat on the
waves, and blown hither and thither by every veering wind of
human teaching, through the adroitness of men, craftily directed
to the devising of error; 15 and to enable us, by adhering to
truth in a spirit of love, to grow up into complete union with
1 Cf. Col. 3. 12, 13. * Ps. 67. 19, Sept. ( = Ps. 68. 18, Heb.) ;
divergent from both.
172 " EPHESIANS " 4. 16--5. 2
Him Who is our Head, even Christ. 16 For from Him all the
Body, combined and united together by means of every ligament
connecting it with the Source of the Supply which it needs,
gains corporate increase in virtue of the proportional activity
of each single part, so as to become invigorated by the practice
of love.1
17 I, then, as being united with the Lord, tell you this — tell
you most solemnly — that you must no longer conduct your-
selves as the heathen do, with their aimlessness of mind 18 and
darkened intelligence, estranged as they are from the Life of
God by reason of the ignorance that is in them, and their moral
insensibility. 19 For they, lost to all moral feeling, have sur-
rendered themselves to debauchery, so as to make a business,
in a spirit of libertinism, of all kinds of impurity. 20 But as
for you, your study of the Christ leads to something very
different — 21 at least, if it is He to Whom you have listened, and
through union with Whom you have received instruction (accord-
ing as Truth subsists in Jesus). 22 You have learned that you
must lay aside your old Self,2 as it was manifested in your former
mode of life — a Self which was going to destruction through
following delusive desires — 23 and must undergo a transforma-
tion of your mental temper, 24 becoming endued with a new
Self,* which is created after the Divine pattern, with the
righteousness and saintliness of Him Who is the Truth.
25 Consequently, discarding falsehood, each of you must speak
truth with his neighbour, for we are all united to one another
like limbs of a single Body. 26 If you are angry, do not be
betrayed into sin ; do not let your exasperation last till sunset ; 27
and do not give the Devil scope for mischief. 28 He that steals
must cease to do so, and must, instead, toil with his hands at
honest work, that he may have something to share with him who
is in want. 29 Let there issue from your lips no corrupt and
corrupting speech, but any that is morally helpful and improving,
as the occasion mav require, in order that it may confer a benefit
on those who hear it. 30 And do not grieve God's Holy Spirit, for
thereby you have been stamped, as with an authenticating Seal,
as God's People, pending the Day of Redemption. 31 Let all
bitterness, and passion, and anger, and brawling, and defamation
be banished from among you, along with all malice. 32 And be
kind to one another and tender-hearted, granting forgiveness to
each other, just as God in Christ has granted forgiveness to you.
51 Become, therefore, imitators of God, as being His Beloved
children, 2 and let your conduct be marked by love for
others, just as the Christ, too, loved you, and for your sake sur-
rendered Himself to death, as an Offering and Sacrifice to God,
to yield unto Him a fragrant savour.
1 Cf. Col. 2. 19. 2 Cf. Col. 3. 9. s Cf. Col. 3. 10.
" EPHESIANS " 5. 3—24 173
3 As for sexual immorality, or impurity, or libertinism, avoid
even the mention of them among you, just as befits God's
Hallowed People; 4 and likewise filthiness, or foolish talking,
or coarse wit— all these are discreditable. Let thanksgiving
take their place. 5 For you know, by what you learn, that no
immoral or impure man or libertine (for to be such means being
an idolater) has any heritage in the Dominion of the Christ and
of God. 6 Let no one delude you with hollow arguments in
excuse for such vices, for it is because of them that God's
Vengeance is coming upon the disobedient. 7 Do not, then,
become participators with those who practise them. 8 For
though you were once in spiritual Darkness, you are now spiritu-
ally enlightened, through being united with the Lord. Conduct
yourselves as men who belong to the realm of spiritual Light 9
(for the Harvest ripened by spiritual Light consists of every form
of goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 seeking to verify
by your own experience what is pleasing to the Lord, u So
have no partnership in the deeds committed in spiritual Dark-
ness, which are barren of any good, but expose them instead;
12 for it is a shame even to mention what is done in secret by
the perpetrators of them. 13 Everything that is exposed by the
Light has its true colours made plain, for everything that is
made plain is as clear as light. 14 And this is why the hymn
says : —
11 Awake, O Sleeper,
And rise from among the spiritually Dead,
And the Christ will shed Light upon thee."
15 Take strict heed, therefore, how you conduct yourselves :
do not act as unwise men, but as wise men, do; 16 making
the most, at all cost, of the opportunity that is yours,1 because
these days are days of wickedness. 17 Consequently do not show
yourselves unintelligent, but try to understand what the Lord's
will is. 18 And do not get intoxicated with wine — that implies
dissolute living — but drink deep from the Source of Divine
Inspiration. 19 Talk to one another in the language of psalms
and hymns and inspired songs,2 singing and making melody with
all your heart to the LORD. 20 Give thanks, as followers of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to God the Father at all times for everything
that you have received ;s 2 1 and be subordinate to one another,
in awe of Christ.
, ip)P You wives, shew the same subordination to your husbands
ft! to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the Head of his wife,
It* the Christ also is the Head of the Church. Christ, indeed,
U ihe Saviour, as well as the Head, of what is His Body ; 24 yet
notwithstanding this difference, wives must be subordinate to
their husbands In every respect, as the Church is subordinate to
1 Cf. Col. 4. 5. a Cf. Col. 3. 16. * Cf. Col. 3. 17. 4 With
5. 22—6. 9 cf. Col. 3. 1 9 — 4. t.
174 " EPHESIANS " 5. 25—6. 11
the Christ. 25 You husbands, love your wives, just as the Christ,
too, loved the Church and surrendered Himself to death for it,
26 in order that He might make it holy, cleansing it by means
of the Washing in Baptismal water, accompanied by a form
of words, it being His intention to present to Himself the Church
in a glorious condition, without blemish or wrinkle, or anything
of the kind, and to ensure its being holy and spotless. Likewise
husbands, too, ought to love their wives as they love their own
bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself : 29 for no one
ever hated his own flesh, but supplies it with nourishment and
warmth, just as the Christ does the Church (30 because we are
members of His Body). 31 " Therefore a man shall leave his
father and mother behind and cleave to his wife, and the pair shall
be one in respect of physical relations."1 The secret Truth here
conveyed — the close unwn between husband and wife — is a pro-
found one : I, for my part, am applying it to Christ and the
Church, and the spiritual relations subsisting between them. 33
But, not to dwell upon the parallel further, let each husband
among you love his wife as much as he loves himself; and his
wife must see to it that she holds her husband in reverence.
61 You children must be submissive to your parents, for
this is right.2 2 " Honour thy father and thy mother,"3
the LORD directs; and this is a commandment of prime import-
ance, and has a promise* attached to it — 3 " That thou mayest
prosper, and that thou mayest continue long upon the earth."3
4 You fathers, too, must not irritate your children,4 but must
rear them with the discipline and admonitions which the LORD
expects. 55 You bond-servants must submit with fear and
trembling to those who in worldly position are your masters,
with undivided motive, as you would submit to the Christ ; 6 not
merely when serving under their eye (as those do who are only con-
cerned to please men) but as bond-servants of Christ, carrying
out the will of God. 7 Render service to them heartily with
right good will, as you would to the LORD and not to men merely,
8 aware, as you are, that each one, if he does what is good, will
get back the same from the LORD, whether he is a bonoman or a
freeman. 9 And you masters must deal with them in the same
spirit, giving up the menaces which you have been accustomed
to use, for you know that the Master of both them and you is
in Heaven, and with Him no distinction is drawn between one
class and another.6
10 Henceforward, acquire increased moral power through
union with the Lord and by the aid of His mighty Sovereignty,
ii Array yourselves in the armour supplied by God, that you
1 Cf. Gen. 2. 24. 2 Cf Col. 3. 20. ' Ex. 20. 12. 4 Cf.
Col. 3. 21. * With vv. 5-8 cf. Col. 3 22-24. 8 Cf. Col.
4- '•
" EPHESIANS " 6. 12—24 175
may be able to stand your ground against the stratagems
of the Devil. 12 For we have to grapple not with human foes
but with the Angelic Rulers, with the Authorities, and with the
Potentates of world-wide sway, who control this realm of spiritual
Darkness — with the wicked Spirit-agencies in the Heavenly
sphere. 13 Therefore take up (I say) the armour supplied by
God, that you may be able to resist your enemies in the Day of
conflict with Wickedness; and by doing all your duty, to stand
your ground. 14 Stand your ground, therefore, having fastened
Truth like a soldier's belt round your waist, and having put
on Uprightness like a corslet, 15 and having shod your feet
with the Good News of spiritual Peace, as with foot-gear ensur-
ing stability and ease of movement ; 16 and having taken up,
as included in your complete outfit, Faith as a shield, with which
you will be able to extinguish all the flaming darts hurled by
the Wicked One. 17 And receive Salvation, as you might a
helmet, and the Spirit (which finds utterance in God's Word) as
a sword. iS1 Resort to prayer and supplication in every form,
praying inwardly at every opportunity; and with that aim,
be attentive and use intercession most assiduously on behalf
of all God's Hallowed People, 19 and on behalf of myself, that
there may be granted to me, when I begin to discourse, a faculty
of Utterance enabling me to make known with boldness God's
Secret Purpose, 20 for the sake of which I am an ambassador,
though in chains, that, in explaining it, I may be as outspoken
as I ought to be.
2ia To enable you also, like others, to become acquainted
with my circumstances, how I fare, Tychicus, the beloved
Brother and faithful minister, who is in union with the Lord,
will give you all information. 22 I am sending him to you for
this very purpose, that you may know everything that concerns
me, and that he may encourage your resolution.
23 Peace be to the Brothers, and Love, joined with Faith,
from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 God's
Favour be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with unfail-
ing sincerity.
THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO THE
PHILIPPIANS
Philippi, in Macedonia, got its name from Philip, the Mace-
donian king, who founded it about 357 B.C. It became famous as the
scene of the victory obtained by Octavian and Antony over Brutus
1 With w. 18-20 cf. Col. 4. 2-4. a With vv. 21-22 cf. Col.
4- 7-8-
176 PHIL., INT.
and Cassius in 42 B.C., and was shortly afterwards constituted a
colony (cf. Acts 16 12), its magistrates bearing the Greek title
equivalent to " prsetors," and being attended by police officers cor-
responding to "hctors" (Acts 16. 20, 35). Though it was a place
of importance (Acts 16. 12), it was not the principal city of the
division of Macedonia in which it was situated, as St. Luke's words,
it carelessly read, might suggest. It lay at some little distance from
the ^gean, sea-borne traffic reaching it through the port of Neapohs.
Phihppi was the first town in Europe where St. Paul pursued
evangelistic work (circ. 50 A.D.) ; and the most kindly relations sub-
sisted between the Apostle and his converts there, for they repeatedly
sent him monetary help to relieve his needs, and were, indeed, the
only community from which he would accept such aid (4. 15, 16; II
Cor. ii. 9). Acquaintance with the Epistle written by St. Paul to the
Philippian Church is shown by Polycarp (circ. 115), who, indeed,
may have known of two Epistles to the same Church; and the
external evidence to its genuineness is confirmed by the character
of its contents in general. The Letter was apparently sent in answer
to one received from Philippi (this seeming to be implied in i. 12;
2 26), and was conveyed by Epaphroditus (a different person from
Epaphras of Col. 4. 12). It was composed at a time when the
Apostle was imprisoned (i. 14) ; and the locality from which it was
despatched was probably Rome, this conclusion being favoured by
the references to the Imperial Guard and to the Emperor's House-
hold (i. 13; 4. 22).
The place of origin, however, is debated. Some critics have
suggested Caesarea, where St. Paul was in confinement for two years
(56-58), though he was not in serious danger there of being executed ;
and others have thought of Ephesus. The references (in II Cor.
6. 5; ii. 23) to " imprisonments" (in the plural) shew that it was
not only at Phihppi (Acts 16. 23) but elsewhere that he had been
a prisoner prior to the writing of that Letter (55 A.D.); and Ephesus
may have been the scene of one such imprisonment. Inscriptions
mention "Imperial Guards" and "servants (or "slaves") of our
Lord Augustus " in connection with Ephesus ; and Timothy, who
was with St. Paul when he wrote this Epistle, was with him at
Ephesus also between 52 and 55 (Acts 19. 22). But the only positive
evidence in favour of Ephesus as the city where the Letter was
written lies in the likeness presented to Romans, which was com-
posed at Corinth, whither the Apostle went after leaving Ephesus
(Acts 20. i, 2).
The date of Phil, depends upon the conclusion reached about
the place of its origin. If, as seems most likely, this was Rome,
the Letter is probably the latest of those which were written in the
Roman capital, the year being 61. The writer had been there long
enough to accomplish some evangelistic work (i. 12-13); and to re-
ceive two gifts of money from Philippi ; and, at the date of writing,
he anticipated that he would shortly be brought to trial, or, if his
trial had already begun, that his case would soon be decided* (2.
PHIL. 1. 1—10 177
17, 23). It was, at any rate, later in date than Colossians, as
appears from the fact that, when Col. was written, Aristarchus and
Luke (who had accompanied St. Paul to Rome from Caesarea) were
still with him (Col. 4. 10, 14), whereas neither is mentioned in
Phil. On the other hand, some scholars think it was the earliest
of the " Captivity " Letters, on the ground of the parallels between
it and the pre-Captivity Epistle to the Romans (these being col-
lected in the footnotes to the Translation).
There seems no reason to doubt the genuineness of the Epistle
on account of the allusion to " Church Overseers " (" bishops ") in
i. i, a term which is isolated in the Collection of Pauline cor-
respondence (apart from the Pastorals] : it probably designates
presbyters whose duties included the oversight of the Church (Acts
20. 17, 28). A portion of the Letter has seemed to some scholars
alien to the rest, and to be part of another Epistle. This is the
section 3. 2 — 4. i, marked by its fierce warnings against Jewish
Christians who insisted upon the circumcision of Gentile Christians,
and by reference to others (presumably Gentiles) who made
Christianity a pretext for loose living. Possibly the explanation of
the change of tone (remarkable after 3. ia) is that the Epistle was
not composed at one sitting, and that before it was concluded, some
unwelcome information about conditions at Philippi had reached
the writer. Still, evidence that fragments of lost Letters have been
attached to surviving Epistles is not lacking (see pp. 74, 102) ; and
the same thing may have occurred here. It is in this section that
the resemblances to Rom. are chiefly found.
11 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all
God's Hallowed People in union with Christ Jesus, who
are in Philippi, together with the Church Overseers and Deacons :
2 Favour be yours and Peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Cnrist.
3 I render thanks to my God on every occasion of my remem-
bering you, 4 in every supplication of mine at all times on behalf
of all of you, making, as I do, such supplication with joy — 5
I render thanks, / repeat, because of your co-operation with me
in the diffusion of the Good News, from the first day of your
reception of it until now ; 6 for of this I am sure, that He
Who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until
the Day of Jesus Christ. 7 I entertain these thoughts about
you all (as I am justified in doing), because I keep you in grate-
ful memory, as being, all of you, alike in my imprisonment and
in my defence of the Good News and my vindication of its Truth,
fellow-sharers with me in what is a mark of God's Favour. 8
For God bears me witness how I long for you all with such
affectionate yearning as is felt by Christ Jesus. 9 And my prayer
is this, that your love may be increasingly accompanied by the
attainment of knowledge and discernment in every direction, 10
enabling you to single out the essentials of religion,1 and to be
1 Cf. Rom. 2. 18.
178 PHIL. 1. 11—28
free from insincerity and from moral lapses, waiting in readines?
for the Day of Christ, n richly laden with the Harvest of
righteousness which accrues through Jesus Christ to the glory
and praise of God.
12 I wish you to know, my Brothers, that my trying experi-
ences have turned out to the furtherance of the Good News rather
than the revere, 13 so that, throughout the whole of the
Imperial Guard, and a^ll the rest whom information about me had
reached, the explanation of my imprisonment has been recognized
to be my union with Christ. 14 The majority of our Brothers,
too, reposing confidence in the Lord, are, in consequence of the
example I have set in my imprisonment, increasingly emboldened
to tell God's Message fearlessly. 15 Some, indeed, proclaim the
Christ even from motives of jealousy and rivalry ; though others
do it from goodwill also. 16 The latter are actuated by love for
me, since they are aware that I am appointed for the defence
of the Good News; 17 but the former preach the Christ for
selfish ends, instead of from pure motives, thinking to aggravate
the oppressiveness of my imprisonment by the fact that they
are free to do so and I am not. 18 Well, what follows?
Why, only that, one way or another, Christ is being
preached, whether it be insincerely or honestly ; and I re-
joice at it. Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that this
experience of mine, whatever be the outcome, will make for my
welfare, through the supplications which you offer to God and
the support afforded to me by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 It is
my eager expectation and hope that in no way shall I ever have
cause for shame, but that, through the utmost outspokenness on
my part, now, as at all times, Christ's Glory may be enhanced
in my person, whether I live or die. 21 For to me life n\eans
Christ, whilst death means gain. 22 If to live longer in the body
is to be my lot, it means more productive work ; and — well, which
of the two alternatives I would choose I cannot tell you. 23 I
feel the force of both of them. Though I have the desire to
strike my tent, and to be together with Christ (for that would
be for me far the best) ; 24 yet it may be more essential for your
sake that I should stay in the body. 25 And confident as I am
that this is so, I feel sure that I shall stay, and remain with
you all, to promote your spiritual progress and your joy in your
faith; 26 so that you will have abundant reason, united as
you are to Christ Jesus, to express your pride in me, through
having me once more present with you. 27 Only, whatever
happens, live as citizens — citizens of a Heavenly, not of an
earthly, Commonwealth — in a manner worthy of the Good News
of the Christ; in order that, whether I come and see you, or
(through my absence from you) I only hear of your circumstances,
I may know that you are standing fast, united by one Spirit,
contending, shoulder to shoulder with one heart, for the Faith
presented in the Good News, 28 and in no way unnerved by
PHIL. 1. 29—2. 16 179
your opponents ; for your intrepidity in the face of their menacing
attitude they will deem a presage of their own impending per-
dition and of your Salvation ; and such presage proceeds from
God. 29 For there has been granted to you the privilege of
suffering for Christ (not merely of believing in Him), 30 sus-
taining, as you are doing, the same strenuous conflict which, in
the case of myself, you have witnessed in the past, and about
which you hear now.
21 If, then, Christ makes any appeal to you, if you feel any
encouragement in mutual love, if there is any spiritual fellow-
ship among you, if tenderness and compassion count for anything
with you, 2 fill up my cup of joy by taking care that you are
perfectly harmonious,1 cherishing the same feelings of love, united
in heart, and all animated by a single thought. 3 Do not be
influenced by selfishness or vain-gloriousness ; but everyone, in
humbleness of spirit, should regard each other as superior to
himself, 4 and each keep in view not his own interests but the
interests of others. 5 Entertain amongst yourselves the attitude
of mind which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, participating,
as He did, from the first, in the essence of Godhead, nevertheless
did not think that to be on an equality with God in dignity was
something to cling to; 7 on the contrary, He stripped Himself
of His Divine prerogatives, and, assuming the essence of
servantship, was born in the likeness of humankind. 8 Being,
by reason of such outward appearance, taken to be only man, He
humbled Himself further, and became submissive to the Divine
Will to the extent of enduring death, yes, death on a Cross ! Q
Consequently God, on His part, exalted Him to the highest
eminence, and bestowed on Him the Rank which is above every
rank, 10 so that to Jesus' Rank every one, whether in Heaven,
or on the earth, or in the subterranean world, should pay hom-
age, ii and every tongue should acknowledge that " Jesus
Christ is Lord," to the Glory of God the Father.
12 Accordingly, my beloved Brothers, just as you have at all
times been submissive to God, be so still; work out, not merely
when I am present with you, but still more strenuously now
that I am absent, work out, I repeat, with awe and trembling
your own Salvation : 13 at the same time be hopeful, for it is
God Who, to accomplish His Good Pleasure, is active in you,
enabling you both to form resolves and to carry them out. 14
Do everything without carping and disputing, 15 that you may
shew yourselves blameless and unsullied, spotless children of God
in the midst of a generation morally warped and perverted
(amongst whom you appear as Luminaries in a dark world), 16
holding out to it a Message of Life. You will then give me
occasion for the proud reflection in the Day of Christ that I have
1 Cf. Rom. 12. 16.
13
180 PHIL. 2. 17-3. 5
not raced for nothing, or toiled for nothing. 17 Nay, though my
life-blood is actually to be poured out like a libation at the sacrifice
and organized worship which you render by your faith, still I
rejoice, and congratulate you all. 18 In the same way, you, too,
must rejoice and congratulate me.
19 I hope (as / may do, being in union with the Lord Jesus)
to send Timothy speedily to you, that I also may be cheered
by hearing of your circumstances. 20 Htm I send because I have
no one of like disposition, one who will genuinely trouble him-
self about your concerns, 21 for all the rest seek to forward
their own "interests, not the interest of Christ Jesus. 22 You
know his sterling worth, how he worked like a slave along with
me (as a son might aid a father) for the furtherance of the Good
News. 23 It is he whom I hope to send at once, as soon as ever
I have surveyed my prospects. 24 I feel confidence in the Lord
that I shall 'be corning in person ere long. 25 And I think it
essential to send to you Brother Epaphroditus, my fellow-
worker and fellow-soldier, and your emissary and officiating
minister in the relief of my need. 26 He has been longing to
see you all ; and he has been distracted with anxiety because you
had heard of his illness. 27 Indeed, he was so ill that he was
nigh to death's door; but God had pity on him; and not on him
only, but on me also, to save me from experiencing sorrow upon
sorrow. 28 I send him, therefore, with the greater readiness,
in order that the sight of him may gladden you once more, and
that my own anxiety may be lightened. 29 With the utmost joy,
then, welcome him, as being all of you united to the Lord; and
put a high value on men like him, 30 because it was owing to
his devotion to the Lord's work that he came so near to death,
through having risked his life in the effort to make good what
was lacking in the ministrations which I needed through your
not being here to render them.
31 Finally, my Brothers, continue to rejoice in the Lord.
(To repeat what I have written to you previously I do not
find irksome, whilst it is a safeguard for you against discourage,
ment). 2 Keep your eyes upon those who call us " dogs " but
are really " dogs " themselves : keep your eyes upon the bad
workmen in God's service ; keep your eyes on those who, prid-
ing themselves on being circumcised, are only mutilated. 3 For
we are the genuine " Circumcised," who perform Divine wor-
ship under the guidance of God's Spirit,1 and make Christ Jesus
the only ground of our pride,2 and have no confidence in any
external qualifications. Yet if anyone else supposes that he has
cause for confidence in external qualifications, I think I have
cause in a still higher degree. 5 I was circumcised on the seventh
day after birth ; I am sprung from Israelite stock ; I belong to
1 Cf. Rom. 2. 29. 2 Cf. Rom. 15. 17.
PHIL. 3. 6—4. 1 181
the tribe of Benjamin j1 I speak Aramaic, and come of Aramaic-
speaking parents ; in my attitude to the Law I was a Pharisee ;
6 I shewed my fervour by persecuting the Church; tested by the
Law's standard of righteousness, I proved myself free from
censure. 7 But the considerations which I used to regard as
standing on the credit side of my account, I have, for the sake
of the Christ, regarded as so much loss. 8 Nay, more than
that : I regard everything as sheer loss by comparison with the
transcendent value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His
sake I have suffered the loss of all things that I prized, esteem-
ing them mere refuse in order to gain Christ, 9 and to be found
at death in union with Him. The right relation in which I
stand to God is not acquired by my obedience to Law : it results
solely through my having faith in Christ — that right relation to
God which, established by Him, depends on Faith.2 10 My aim
is to get to know Christ — to experience the spiritual power flow-
ing from His Resurrection, and to participate in suffering like
His, 1 1 in the hope that, if my life becomes transformed into a
Death like His, possibly I may attain, like Him, to the Resur-
rection from among the dead. 12 I do not mean that I have
already gained my object, or have already reached perfection ;
but I am following in pursuit of it, in the hope of laying hold
of that for which Christ laid hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not
reckon that I have yet laid hold of it ; but one thing I am doing ;
forgetting what lies behind and straining after what lies in
front, 14 I am pursuing my aim in order to win the prize of
God's Heavenward Call addressed to us in Christ Jesus. 15 All
of us, then, who imagine ourselves perfect, should think thus
about the need of further effort- if, in any respect, you take a
different view, the right conclusion God will disclose to you. 16
Only, whatever be the moral standard which we have already
reached, our steps should be guided by it. 17 Join in imitating
my example, Brothers : fix your attention on those who conduct
themselves after the model which you have in us. 18 For many
conduct themselves otherwise: men whom I have often, in speak-
ing to you, termed, and now term even with tears, the enemies
of the Christ's Cross, 19 whose end is perdition, whose God is
their appetite, and who glory in what disgraces them, whose
minds are occupied with the things of earth.3 20 They and we
are widelv sundered, for our Commonwealth is not here but in
Heaven, whence also we await our Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour,
21 Who will re-fashion the body which is ours in our present
lowly condition, rendering it essentially like the Body which is
His in His state of Glory, by virtue of that Activity which enables
Him to subjugate all things to Himself.
41 So, my Brothers, loved and longed for, who are the source
of my joy, and my wreath of victory, stand firm in union
»Cf. Rom. n i. 2 Cf . Rom. g. 30. 3 Cf. Rom. 8. 5.
182 PHIL. 4. 2-20
with the Lord in the spirit that I have described, my Beloved. 2
I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche to be harmonious, since both are
in union with the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you, too, Syzygus (genuine
44 yoke-fellow " that you are) to help them to do so, for they
joined me in my struggle to spread the Good News, along with
Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are
entered in the Book of Life. 4 Rejoice at all times, united as
you are to the Lord : I repeat it, Rejoice. 5 Let your considerate-
ness be known to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be in any
way anxious; but in every matter let your requests, in prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, be made known to God. 7
And God's Peace, which transcends everything that we can
imagine, will keep watch and ward over your affections and
thoughts through your union with Christ Jesus. 8 In conclusion,
Brothers, of all that is true, of all that is revered, of all that is
just, of all that is pure, of all that is loveable, of all that is high-
toned, of every excellence and of everything praiseworthy take
count. 9 All that you have learnt and received from me, and all
that you have heard me say or seen me do, put into practice;
and so God, the Source of Peace, will be with you.
10 United as we are with the Lord, I rejoice greatly that
now at length you have revived in a practical form your thought-
fulness for my needs : on a previous occasion, though you did
not fail to think of them, you lacked opportunity of doing any-
thing more, n I do not intend my words of gratitude to imply
that I, on that former occasion, underwent actual want; for I
have learnt to be content under all conditions. 12 I know how
to adapt myself both to humble and to affluent circumstances.
Into every kind of experience and into all sorts of emergencies
I have been initiated. I have learnt the secret of living both in
plenty and in penury; both in affluence and in privation. 13 I
am capable of anything and everything in union with Him Who
endows me with Power. 14 Nevertheless, you have done nobly
in taking shares in my affliction. 15 And you, Philippians, are
also aware that at the outset of mv proclaiming the Good News
in this part of the world, when 1 left Macedonia, no Church
entered into a debtor and creditor account with me, receiving
from me spiritual help and giving to me material help — none
but yourselves ; 16 for even in Thessalonica you sent money
more than once to relieve my needs. 17 I do not mean that
what I have in view is the gift that comes to me; what I have
in mind is the Spiritual interest on the investment, which is
being placed to your account. 18 I have all I need and to
spare : my wants are fully satisfied, now that I have received
from Epaphroditus the contributions which you have sent — gifts
which are a fragrant odour, arising from a sacrifice acceptable
and welcome to God. 19 And every need of yours my God will
satisfy in Glory through Christ Jesus (as His inexhaustible re-
sources enable Him to do). 20 To our God and Father be Glory
for ever and ever. Amen.
PHIL. 4. 21, 22 183
21 Remember me to every member of God's Hallowed People
in union with Christ Jesus. The Brothers who are together with
me send their kind remembrances. 22 All God's Hallowed
People here wish to be remembered to you, especially those
belonging to the Imperial Household. The Favour of our Lord
Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
FRAGMENTS OF A THIRD EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
TIMOTHY1
(= II TIM. 4. 9-12, 22b.)
The locality whence the Letter, of which these are fragments, was
despatched was doubtless Rome, where St. Paul was in prison (59-61).
It must be dated later than the other Epistles of the Captivity for
more than one reason. Of the persons mentioned in it Luke, who
had accompanied the Apostle on the voyage from Caesarea to Rome,
was still with him when this Letter was written; whereas Mark,
though he was also with him when Col. was written (4. 10) but was
meditating a journey to Colossae, had, by the time that this was
penned, already started for Asia (v. n). It seems reasonable to
suppose that it was at Colossae that Timothy is here directed to pick
him up. When Eph. was composed, the despatch of Tychicus
to Ephesus was at the moment only intended by the Apostle (6. 21),
but is here mentioned as carried out. Finally, when Phil, was
written, Timothy's departure for Macedonia was still in the future
(2. 19) ; but by the time that St. Paul sent this Letter to him, he
had clearly left Rome, though where he was staying there is nothing
to show.
429 Do your best to come to me soon, 10 for Demas, in his
love for the present Age, has deserted me, and has gone to
Thessalonica ; Crescens has left for Galatia, and Titus has gone
to Dalmatia. Luke alone is with me still, n Pick up Mark
and bring him with you, for I find him serviceable for minister-
ing. 12 Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.3 . . . 22b The Favour
of Heaven be with you all.
1 See p. 545. 2 For // Tim. i. 1—4, 8 see pp. 554-557- * For
vv. 13-15, 16-18*, i8b-i9, 20-21*, 2ib-22a see pp. in, 156, 185,
in, 185.
FRAGMENTS OF A FOURTH EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL
TO
TIMOTHY1
( = lt TIM. i. 15-18; 3. 10, ii ; 4. i, 2a, 5b, 6-8, i8b, 19, 2ib, 22*.)
The sections of // Tim. here combined have been with much
plausibility regarded as portions of the very last Letter ever written
by St. Paul. The year of its composition (according to the scheme
of dates here adopted) was 61, and the occasion was apparently the
eve of his execution (4. 6). The allusions in 3. n to the Apostle's
sufferings at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra are explained
by what is recorded in Acts 13. 14, 50; 14. i, 2, 5, 19. Of
Onesiphorus, mentioned in j. 16; 4. 19, nothing is known beyond
what is here related. By this time he was probably dead, leaving a
family behind him. If the section is rightly regarded as later than
77 Tim. 4. 9-12, 22b, the desertion of the Apostle by his companions
mentioned in 4. 10 had by now been made good by the presence of
several others (4. 2ib).
I2 15 You are aware of this, that all our fellow Believers who
are in the Province of Asia withdrew from me, among them
being Phygelus and Hermogenes.
16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of
Onesiphorus, for he frequently cheered me and was not ashamed
of the fact that I was a prisoner. 17 On the contrary, when he
was a visitor at Rome, he took pains to seek me out, and he
found me — 18 the Lord grant that he may find mercy from the
IORD on That Day — and with the many services which he ren-
dered to me at Ephesus you are well acquainted.
3s jo As for you, you have followed closely my teaching, my
manner of life, my aim, my faith, my forbearance, my love,
my steadfastness, n my persecutions, my sufferings — such
sufferings, for example, as befell me at Pisidian Antioch,
Iconium, and Lystra, and such persecutions as I had to endure
there, though the Lord rescued me from them all.
44i I adjure you before God and Christ Jesus, Who is to
judge both living and dead — I adjure you both by His Mani-
festation and by His Dominion which we look for, 2* proclaim
the Message, be persistent on every occasion, opportune and in-
opportune alike.5 5b Do the work of a Missionary, discharge
the full duties of your ministry.
1 See p. S45- 2 For ?? Tim. i. 1-14 see p. 554. 3 For 2.
i — 3. 9 'see p. 1554 4 For 3. 12-17 see p. 557. 5 For vv.
2b-sa see p. 557.
IV EP. TIM. ( = 11 TIM. 4. 6—8, 18b, 19, 21»>, 22») 185
6 For my life-blood is being poured out already, like a sacri-
ficial libation ; and the occasion for striking my tent is at hand.
7 I have competed in the glorious Contest; I have run the Race
to the finish; 1 have kept the Faith inviolate. 8 For the future
there is reserved for me the Righteousness which, like a victor's
wreath, the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me in
That Day, and not to me only but to all, too, who lovingly long
for His Manifestation. . ,l i8b to Whom belongs Glory for ever
and ever. Amen. 19 Remember me to Prisca and Aquila, and
the household of Onesiphorus. 22ib Eubulus, Pudens, Linus,
Claudia, and all the Brothers wish to be remembered to you. 22*
The Lord be with your Spirit.3
AN EPISTLE OF
ST. PETER
(I PETER.)
For the early origin of / Peter, though it is absent from the
Muratonan Catalogue, there is a good deal of external evidence of
a vague character, since it was seemingly known to Clement of Rome
(d. 95-100 A.D.), to the writer of the Teaching of the XII Apostles
(circ. loo A.D.), and to Polycarp (ctrc. 115 A.n.) ; and is stated by
Eusebius to have been used by Papias (125-130 A.D.) ; whilst it is
quoted as St Peter's by Irenneus (d. 202). In Eusebius' account of
the N.T. writings it appears amongst those of which the authority
was undisputed. The author calls himself an Apostle (i. i) and a
fellow- Presbyter of those whom he addresses ; and claims to have
been a witness of our Lord's sufferings (5. i). Nor is there much
difficulty in harmonizing various features in the Epistle with such
facts about the Apostle's life and character as are known or probable.
The place of origin is styled " Babylon " (5. 13) ; but as there is
no evidence that St. Peter went to the historical Babylon on the
Euphrates, in company with Silvanus and Mark (5. 12, 13), and the
order in which the regions mentioned in i. i occur is opposed to the
idea that the Letter was conveyed to its destination from the East,
the name may reasonably be understood as a figure for Rome (as in
Rev. 14. 8; 16. 19), that city being the capital of the alien world
in which the writer regards Christians as " dispersed." St. Peter
is related by several Patristic writers to have been at Rome, and to
have suffered death there, in the reign of Nero (54-68), by whom the
Christian Church was cruelly persecuted (circ. 64). The people to
whom the Epistle was sent were resident within five districts of
Asia Minor; and if the succession of the names (Pontus first and
Bithynia last) indicates the circuit which the bearers of the Letter
followed in carrying it to the communities for whom it was intended,
1 For vv. 9-12, 13-15, i6-i8a see pp. 183, in, 156. 2 For vv. 20,
2 ia see p. in, 3 For ver. 22b see p. 183.
186 EPISTLE OF PETER, INT.
the first-named was easily reached by a traveller from Rome through
Sinope.
The Christians in these localities had undergone some suffering
for their religion (i. 6; 3. 16; 4. 12, 13, 16) ; and one of the author's
purposes was to support them under it. Such allusions are explic-
able, if it is assumed that the Epistle was written by St. Peter from
Rome in some year prior to the outbreak of persecution by Nero in
64. That the Apostle went to Rome after St. Paul (who was taken
thither about 59, and was in all likelihood executed about 61) is
probable from the circumstance that no mention of his having gone
to Rome occurs in Acts; so that the composition of the Epistle may
plausibly be placed between 61 and 64. If the writer is St. Peter, it
is almost impossible to regard it as later than 64, in view of the
direction contained in it to honour the Emperor (2. 17). When the
attitude displayed towards Rome here is compared with that in
Revelation (arc. 90-95), where the Emperor is symbolized by a wild
beast, the contrast is striking in the extreme. The Christians
addressed by the writer of the Epistle were most likely in the main
Gentiles (i. 14; 2. 9; 4. 3), the designation " sojourners dispersed
abroad " (originally appropriate to Jews dwelling outside Palestine
(cf. fames i. i)) being transferred to Christians, whatever their race,
who were in exile from their spiritual home, Heaven.
Nevertheless, certain objections have been raised against the
Petrine authorship of the Letter, the principal grounds of these (with
some comments) being as follows : — (a) The long interval separating
the lifetime of St. Peter from the earliest ascription (by Irenaeus) of
the Epistle to him. This is perhaps the strongest reason for ques-
tioning its Apostolic origin. (b) The excellence of the Greek, a
language in which St. Peter was not very fluent, if, as is stated, he
used St. Mark as his interpreter (p. 194). But the Apostle may have
employed a secretary (perhaps Silvanus, the bearer of the Letter),
as St. Paul did (Rom. 16. 22), the subject-matter being dictated, but
the actual wording being left to the amanuensis, (c) The parallels
presented to some of St. Paul's Epistles, especially Romans and, in a
less degree, Efhcsians (as shewn in the footnotes to the Translation).
There is also a suggestive likeness between / Pet. i. 6, 7 and James
i. 2, 3, as well as coincidences in the use of quotations from the
O.T. occurring in this Epistle and that of St. James (cf i. 24 with
Ja. i. ii ; 4. 8 with Ja. 5. 20; 5. 5-9 with Ja. 4. 6-10). There is
however, nothing violent in the supposition that St. Peter became
acquainted with Romans (written in 56) when he was at Rome, or
even that he had read James, if this was sent to Rome (p. 57). (d)
The destination of the Epistle, since there is no evidence that St.
Peter had ever been in any of the Provinces named in i. i. Never-
theless, since Galatia, where St. Paul had preached, is included
among them, Silvanus, who accompanied St. Paul when he went to
Galatia for the second time (Acts 15. 40, 16. i), may have interested
the older Apostle in that country and some of the adjoining regions.
(e) The allusion to the mere profession of Christianity (4. 16) as
EPISTLE OF PETER 1. 17 187
affording a sufficient occasion for persecution, this being thought to
point to some time in Nero's reign " subsequent to the massacres
of 64," or else to the reign of Domitian (81-96), or even that of
Trajan (78-117) — periods of which the first two probably, and the
last certainly, fell outside the limits of St. Peter's life. But if St.
Paul was executed about 61, Christians may have been persecuted
prior to the horrors of 64, as being votaries of a religion which,
unlike Judaism, was not expressly tolerated by the State. Some
scholars, who assign the Epistle to the reign of Domitian, hold
that, if written at the beginning of that reign, it could still be the
work of St Peter : others, who favour the same date, but think
that it cannot be St. Peter's, suggest Silvanus as the author. A
circumstance unfavourable to the conclusion that the Epistle is
pseudonymous is the paucity of the allusions to incidents and ex-
periences in St. Peter's life : a later author producing a work pur-
porting to be the Apostle's would probably multiply such (cf. 11
Peter, p. 53$).
The break at 4. n has led to the suggestion that the Epistle
really consists of two separate documents — a sermon (i. 3 — 4. n) and a
letter (4. 12 — 5. n); that these, being copied on the same papyrus- roll,
were taken to be parts of a single work ; and that this composite
production (at a period when the author's name was forgotten) was
furnished with an address (r. i, 2) and a conclusion (5. 12-14),
whereby it was converted into an Epistle of St. Peter's, to obtain
for its contents Apostolic authority. The two component documents
which this theory presupposes are conjectured to have been the work
of Aristion (a writer mentioned by Papias) and to have been written
at Smyrna about 90 A.D.
1i Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to the Sojourners dis-
persed Abroad from their true Home — Heaven, who live in
the Provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
— Chosen by God the Father (2 in virtue of His foreknowledge),
sanctified by the Spirit, and designed to render submission to God
and to be included in the Covenant made binding by the Blood
of Jesus Christ sprinkled figuratively upon you : may Divine
Favour and Peace be increasingly yours.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who, moved by His great pity, regenerated us through the Resur-
rection of Jesus Christ from among the dead, that we might
cherish a vigorous hope, 4 and eventually enter upon a heritage
proof against destruction, defilement, and decay. This has been
preserved in Heaven for you, 5 who, by God's Power are being
safeguarded in consequence of your faith, for the attainment of
a Salvation, which is ready to be revealed at the final Hour of
reckoning. 6 Be thrilled at the anticipation of it, though you
may for the present be distressed a little (if it must needs be so)
by various trials, 7 in order that the sterling Quality of your
faith may be found far more precious than gold (which, though
188 EPISTLE OF PETER 1. 8-23
a perishable thing, is yet tested by fire), with resultant praise
and glory and honour for you, when Jesus Christ reveals Himself
at His Return. 8 Though you never saw Him in the past, when
He was on earth, yet you love Him ; though you cannot for the
present see Him in Heaven, yet you believe in Him, and are
thrilled with a joy inexpressible and triumphant, 9 endeavouring
to secure, as you are doing, the ultimate aim of your faith, the
Salvation of your souls. 10 This Salvation was the subject of
search and enquiry by the prophets, who predicted in advance the
Divine Favour that was meant for you. u They sought to dis-
cover what was the Occasion, or what was the nature of the
Occasion, in the world's history, for which Christ's Spirit within
them (giving to them solemn assurance before the event) in,
timated that the Sufferings in store for Christ and the ensuing
Glories were destined. 12 To them it was disclosed that it was
not for their own advantage, or for that of their contemporaries,
but for yours, that *they were wont to ponder over* the very
Truths which have now been announced to you by those who,
inspired by Holy Spirit sent to them from Heaven, have im-
parted the Good News to you — Truths into which even angels
long to peer.
13 Consequently, bracing up your mental faculties and pre-
serving perfect sobriety of mind, fix your hope upon the Favour
which is on its way to you when Jesus Christ reveals Himself
at His Return. 14 In a spirit of submissiveness to Him, see
that your lives are no longer shaped by the former cravings which
swayed you in the period of your ignorance; 15 but, in cor-
respondence with the character of the Holy One Who Called you,
shew yourselves holy in all your behaviour, 16 because it is
written " Ye must be holy because I am holy."1 17 And if you
invoke as Father Him Who judges impartially, according to
each man's acts, see that your conduct is marked by awe during
your temporary stay on earth, 18 since you know that it was
not by perishable valuables, like silver and gold, that you were
redeemed from your aimless manner of life, transmitted to you
from your ancestors, 19 but by precious Blood, even that of
Christ, as of a Lamb spotless and unblemished. 20 For the
accomplishment of this redemption He was designated in
advance, prior to the foundation of the world; but was mani-
fested only in the last of the successive periods in the world's
history for the sake of you, 21 who, through Him, have faith
in God, Who raised Him to Life from among the dead,2 and
bestowed upon Him Glory, so that your faith m God involves
also hope in God. 22 Having, through submission to the Truth,
purified your lives for the development of unfeigned brotherliness
among you, love one another steadfastly from your hearts ; 23
for you have been regenerated not from a corruptible, but from
1 Lev. ii. 44 (or 45); abbreviated. 2 Cf. Rom. 4. 24.
EPISTLE OF PETER 1. 24—2. 12 189
an incorruptible, germ of Life, through God's Living and Lasting
Message; 24 because.
" All humankind is as the herbage,
And all its glory is as the flowers in the herbage;
The herbage withereth, and the flowers fade,
25 But the Word of the LORD lasteth for ever."1
And this is the Word that has been imparted unto you as Good
News.
21 Therefore, having rid yourselves of all malice, and all
deceit, and insincerity, and feelings of envy, and all vitupera-
tive talk,2 long, like new-born infants, for the Milk of Divine
Reason which, unlike natural milk, is unadulterated, that by It
you may .grow spiritually until you attain Salvation, 3 if you
have really discovered by experience that the Lord is kind. 4
Approaching Him, the Living Stone, rejected as worthless by
men but in the judgement of God choice and costly, 5 you, too,
must build yourselves up, as Living Stones, into a spiritual
Edifice, suited for the ministrations of a holy priesthood, for the
offering of spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ. 6 Because there is contained in a passage of Scripture
the words,
" Lo, I lay in Zion a choice Stone, a key-stone of great value :
And he who believes on Him will never meet with disappoint-
ment."2
7 You, then, who are Believers recognize His Value; but such
as are disbelievers will find that " The Stone which the house-
builders rejected — it is this that has become the keystone at the
angle,"3 8 whilst for themselves it has proved " a Stone that
is a stumbling-block, and a Rock that trips the foot "4 (for they
stumble at the Message, refusing obedience to it) — this being a
fate for which they were destined. 9 But you are a Chosen race,
a Royal priesthood, a Hallowed nation, a People for God's special
possession,5 commissioned to tell forth the excellences of Him
Who Called you out of Darkness into His wonderful Light, 10
you, who once wore not, but now are, God's People, who once
were unpitied by Him, but now have been shewn pity.6
ii Beloved, I appeal to you, as only temporary dwellers on
earth and mere soiourners here, to refrain from indulging the
fleshly cravings which wage a campaign against the soul. 12
Maintain, in your behaviour among the Gentiles, a high standard
of honour, in order that, in the very circumstances in which they
malign you as evil-doers, they may, in consequence of your
1 Is. 40. 6-8, Sept. ; very slightly divergent. Sept omits part of
the Heb. 2 Is. 28. 16, Sept. ; abbreviated and slightly
divergent. Quoted in Rom. g. 33. 3 Ps 117. 22, Sept.
( = 118. 22 Heb.). * Is. 8. 14, Sept ; divergent; nearer
Heb. • Cf. Is. 43. 2ob, Ex. 19. 5, 6. 6 Cf. Hos. 2. 23
190 EPISTLE OF PETER 2. 13—3. 7
honourable dealings, when they observe them to be what they
really are, glorify God for them, in the day when He visits the
world for retribution or recompense- 13 Shew, for the sake of
the Lord, subordination to every human institution, whether to
the Emperor as supreme ruler, 14 or to Governors, as officials
sent, through him, by God, for the punishment of wrong-doers
and for the commendation of such as do right; 15 because in
this way — by your silencing, through doing good, the ignorant
misrepresentations of senseless people — is the Will of God ful-
filled. 16 Though you are free, yet do not turn your freedom
into a screen for depravity, but behave as servants of God. 17
Honour all men, love the Brotherhood, fear God, honour the
Emperor. 18 Conduct yourselves in the way I enjoin, you who
are household servants, shewing subordination, with all due
deference, to your masters, not merely to the good-natured and
considerate, but also to the unreasonable, iq For it is behaviour
grateful to God, if a man, through consciousness of his responsi-
bility to God, puts up with distressing conditions, suffering un-
justly. 20 For what credit will it be, if you shew steadfastness
when belaboured for misconduct? But if you display steadfast-
ness when you behave well and yet suffer, this, in God's judg-
ment, is grateful behaviour. 21 For it was for this very end
that you were Called by Him, inasmuch as Christ too, suffered
for you, leaving behind for you a pattern, that you should follow
closely His footprints. 22 He did no sin, nor was deceit found
on His lips ; when He was reviled, He did not revile in turn ; when
He suffered, He did not use threats, but committed His cause
to Him Who judges justly. 24 In His own Body He carried
up our sins on to the Tree, in order that we, having died to our
sins, might live for righteousness; and by the wounds which He
sustained we were healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep,
but have now turned back to the Shepherd Who has the over-
sight of your souls.
31 Likewise you wives, be subordinate to your respective hus-
bands, in order that, if any of them refuse obedience to the
Divine Message, they may be won through the behaviour of their
wives, without a word being said by you, 2 when they observe
your chaste and deferential bearing. 3 Your adornment should
be not that which is external — plaited hair, the wearing of gold
jewelry, or a frequent change of dress — 4 but the hidden
personality within, marked by the imperishable charm of a quiet
and gentle spirit, which in the sight of God is very precious. 5
For it was thus that in former days the Hallowed women who
reposed their hopes in God used to adorn themselves, shewing
themselves subordinate to their husbands, 6 as Sarah submitted
to Abraham, calling him Lord : her true descendants you have
become, and will remain such, if you do good, and yield to no
agitating fears. 7 You husbands, likewise, should dwell together
EPISTLE OF PETER 3. 8—22 191
with them in conjugal intimacy, assigning honour to the female
sex (as being the weaker), and regarding them as joint heirs,
along with yourselves, of the true Life which is God's Bounty, in
order that your prayers may not be impeded. 8 Finally, all of
you should be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, tender-hearted,
humble-minded, 9 not returning injury for injury, or reviling for
reviling, but, on the contrary, invoking blessings ; because it was
for this that you were Called — to inherit a blessing. 10 For
" He who would love true Life
And experience happy days,
Should restrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceitfully ;
11 He should turn aside from evil, and do good,
He should seek peace and make it his aim ;
12 Because the LORD'S eyes rest upon the upright,
And His ears are attentive to their supplications;
But the LORD sets His face against the doers of evil."1
13 And who is to harm you, if you shew yourselves zealous for
goodness? 14 Yet even if you should actually suffer on account
of your uprightness, yet you are really happy. And do not fear
what men fear, or be disturbed at it; 15 it is the Lord, even
the Christ, that you must inwardly hold in awe. Be always
ready to give an explanation to any one who asks you to account
for the hope which you cherish, though do so with meekness and
respect; 16 and keep your conscience clear, in order that, on
an occasion when you are maligned, those who heap abuse on
your good behaviour, due to your union with Christ, may, when
they recognize the truth, feel ashamed. 17 For it is better, if the
will of God should so determine, that you should suffer while
doing good than while doing ill. 18 Because Christ also died
for sins once for all, a Righteous Person for the sake of un-
righteous persons, in order that He might bring you to God.
He was put to death in the body, but restored to Life in the
Spirit ; 19 and in that Life He went and made proclamation of
the Good News even to the imprisoned spirits, 20 spirits of men
who had formerly been disobedient when the forbearance of God
waited in the days of Noah, whilst an ark was being got ready,
in which a few persons (that is, not more than eight souls) were
brought into safety through the midst of water. 21 And the
same element, in a corresponding but higher sense, brings you,
too, into a state of spiritual safety, since it is the element used
in baptism (this rite not being intended for the removal of bodily
uncleanness but involving the stipulation of a good conscience to-
wards God). Such is the result brought about by the Resur-
rection of Jesus Christ, 22 Who, after going into Heaven, is on
the right hand of God, Angels and Celestial Authorities and
Powers having been made subordinate to Him.
1 Ps. 33. 13-17*, Sept. ( = 34. 13-17*, Heb.); very slightly divergent.
192 EPISTLE OF PETER 4. 1—17
41 As Christ, then, suffered in the body, so you, too. must
arm yourselves with the same resolve as He (reflecting that
he who has suffered in the body has been given rest from the
assaults of Sin); 2 making it your aim to live the remaining
interval of bodily life no longer under the influence of human
cravings but of God's Will. 3 For the time past has been quite
long enough for doing all that the Gentiles wished you to do, pur-
suing, as you did, a career marked by occasions of debauchery,
lustfulness, intoxication, revelry, carousing, and unlawful
idolatry. 4 In regard to such conduct, they deem it extra-
ordinary that you do not still rush, in company with them, into
the same welter of dissoluteness ; and so they malign you ; 5 but
they will have to answer for it to Him Who is ready to judge
both li\ing and dead. (6 It was in view of this accountability
that the Good News was imparted to dead men as well as to
living, in order that, though they would be judged because of
their indulgence of the fleshly instincts shared with the rest of
mankind, yet they might live in consequence of the spiritual
principle in them, which they share with God).
7 The End of all things has drawn near. Therefore practise
self-control and soberness of thought, in order that you may give
yourselves to prayers. 8 Above all else cherish steadfast love
one for another, because love throws a veil over a multitude of
sins, q Shew hospitality to each other without grumbling.1 10
In proportion as each of you has been endowed by God with
some gift, you should use it in the service of each other as hon-
ourable stewards of God's manifold Bounty, n If anyone has
to speak, he should speak with a sense of responsibility, as utter-
ing God's Oracles; if anyone has to render service, he should
render it in reliance upon resources supplied by God ; that in all
things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ, to Whom
belong Glory and Sovereignty for ever. Amen.
12 Beloved, do not see, in the fiery ordeal that is taking place
in your midst to test you, anything exceptional, as though some
strange occurrence were happening to you. 13 No ; so far as you
share the Christ's sufferings, rejoice that you do so, in order
that, at the revelation of His Glory also, you may be thrilled with
joy. 14 If you are reproached as adherents of Christ, you are
really happy, because the glorious Spirit, even the Spirit of God,
is resting upon you. But you must give no other occasion for
reproach. 15 For none of you must suffer as a murderer or a
thief, or a poisoner, or as one that has an eye upon other persons'
possessions. 16 If, however, he should suffer for being a
Christian, he must not be ashamed, but should, instead, glorify
God that he has this name of Christian. 17 Because the
appointed Hour has come for the Judgment to begin with the
Household of God ; and if it starts with us, what will the end be
1 Cf. Rom. 12. 13.
EPISTLE OF PETER 4. 18-5. 14 193
of those who refuse obedience to God's Good News? 18 And if
the righteous is barely saved, what will become of the impious
and the sinner? 19 So those who actually suffer as God wills
them to do, should entrust their souls to a faithful Creator, and
continue to do right.
51 To, the Presbyters amongst you, then, I make this appeal
(for I am their fellow-Presbyter and an eye-witness of the
Christ's sufferings in the past, and an expectant sharer, too, of
the Glory that is to be revealed m the future) 2 tend God's
little Flock that is committed to your charge, not under a sense
of constraint but with good will ; not from a discreditable love
of gain, but in a spirit of enthusiasm ; 3 not thinking yourselves
entitled to domineer over those who are allotted to your charge,
but shewing yourselves models for the flock to imitate ; 4 and
when the Chief Shepherd manifests Himself, you will get the
wreath of Glory that is unfading. 5 Likewise, you younger men,
be subordinate to your Presbyters. And all of you must vest
yourselves with the quality of humility, like the apron of a serv-
ing man, for waiting upon one another ; for God resists the
arrogant, but on the humble bestows favour.1
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of
God, that He may exalt you when tho Hour of reckoning comes,
7 casting upon Him all your anxiety, for He is concerned for you.
8 Be sober-minded, be watchful ; your Opponent the Devil, like a
roaring lion, prowls about, seeking to devour you. Q Withstand
him, then, remaining steadfast to the Faith, "knowing that you
are paying the same toll of sufferings as the rest of your Brother-
hood in the world at large. 10 And God, the Bestower of every
Favour, Who has Called you to His Eternal Glory through your
union with Christ, after you have suffered a little, will restore
you, re-invigorate, strengthen you. n To Him be Sovereignty
for ever ; Amen.
12 It is by the hand of Sihanus, our faithful Brother (as I
count him), that I am writing briefly to you, exhorting you to
believe, and witnessing to the fact that in the experiences that
I have described God's true Favour is to be seen. In the con-
sciousness of this Favour stand your ground. 13 The Church in
" Babylon," divinely Chosen together with yourselves, desires to
be remembered to you; and Mark, my spiritual son, does so, too.
14 Greet one another with a kiss of Love. God's Blessing be
on all of you who are in union with Christ.
Cf. Prov. 3. 34.
THE GOSPEL OF
ST. MARK
The Gospel which stands second in the current arrangement of
the N.T. writings is really the earliest in chronological order. This
becomes apparent when it is compaied with the First and Third
of the Synoptic Gospels, for the inference is quickly reached that
the writers of these have made much use of it, sometimes reproduc-
ing passages from it very closely (though seldom word for word),
at other times freely, with compression or modification. Illustra-
tions of the fact are unnecessary here, since the borrowed sections
in the two longer Gospels are indicated in the Translation, and the
places in Mk. whence they are taken are given in the Tables on
PP- 323. 384-
The Second Gospel, like all the others, is anonymous. But vari-
ous Patristic writers — Papias, Irenaeus, Tertullian — designate the
author as Mark; and Papias, who is the earliest (circ. 130?) is re-
presented as stating that he was the " interpreter " of St. Peter.
A possible meaning of this is that what the Apostle spoke, either in
Aramaic or in Greek at Rome (see below), was put by St. Mark into
Latin. But a more probable explanation is that St. Peter's addresses,
if delivered in Aramaic, were subsequently translated by St. Mark
into Greek, or, if delivered in Greek, were put into better Greek,
though the Evangelist's own Greek is rough and unhterary.
Papias adds that he recorded what the Apostle taught at Rome
about the Discourses and Acts of the Messiah, and did so with
accuracy, so far as his recollection served ; but that his narrative
was deficient in order (probably in part because St. Peter in his
teaching did not adhere to any fixed arrangement, but was guided
by the requirements of those whom from time to time he instructed,
and in part because he himself had to depend upon his memory).
Papias further asserts that Mark personally neither heard nor fol-
lowed the Lord, though (as will be seen) there is some reason to
suspect that he came in contact with Him. Irenaeus affirms that
it was after the death of St. Peter that Mark transmitted in writing
an account of what the Apostle preached; and this is more probable
than the statement of Clement of Alexandria that he wrote his
Gospel during St. Peter's lifetime. It was after that Apostle had
passed away that the need for some record of his teaching about
the incidents of Jesus' Life would first become urgent (cf. p. 4).
The " Mark " to whom the Patristic writers allude is gener-
ally, and, no doubt, correctly, identified with the " John Mark "
who is mentioned in Acts 12. 12, 25; 13. 13; 15. 37-39. He was
of Jewish descent (as his first name, and his relationship to St.
Barnabas (Col. 4. 10), shew), and probably a native of Jerusalem ;
he was with St. Paul at Rome (Col. 4. 10) in spite of that Apostle's
resentment on the occasion related in Acts 13. 13; and he is m-
19*
MARK, INT. 195
eluded among those whose kind regards are conveyed in / Pet. 5.
13, so that, if this Epistle is genuine (p. 185 f.), and was written at
Rome, St. Mark probably attached himself to St. Peter after the
death of St. Paul. Tradition represents that he eventually went to
Egypt and established Christian Churches at Alexandria.
The fact that of the four Gospels St. Mark's is the earliest of
all makes it one of the best authorities for our Lord's Ministry.
Reference has already been made to the statement of Papias that as
a record of that ministry it is defective in " order." The term, on
the surface, seems to mean " chronological " order (cf. p. 194) ; and
it is possible that the basis of the charge may be the curious way
in which an account of one incident is often inserted in the middle
of a narrative about another. (Thus 3. 22-30 interrupts the connection
between the two related verses 3. 21 and 31 ; and 14. 3-9 breaks the
natural sequence of 14. i, 2 and 10, n). On the other hand, Papias
may have preferred an arrangement of matter by subjects, such as
is adopted by the First Evangelist (see p. 328). For this kind of
" order " Mark himself has some liking, since, after relating a
series of miracles (i. 23 — 2 12), he proceeds to group together various
criticisms of, and charges against, our Lord (2 13 — 3 20) ; and then
to introduce a number of parables or allegories (4. 2-32). Conse-
quently, some scholars think that the a( tnal succession of events
found in the Second Gospel (apart from the record of the Passion
and Crucifixion and the incidents at Jerusalem immediately lead-
ing up to these) has been constructed by the Evangelist himself out
of such materials as he had at his disposal, these being merely a
collection of disconnected stones gathered by him from St. Peter's
reminiscences, and strung loosely together. And it is, of course,
true that, in a measure, the various episodes are independent of one
another ; for there are gaps between them, which render the Gospel
a very incomplete and not perfectly intelligible account of Jesus'
ministry. Nevertheless, in regard to the defective " order " in the
Gospel, of which complaint is made, there appears, in the leading
events of that ministry, as there related, a natural consecutiveness
in different directions (see p. 6), which is at least as likely to
be due to the succession in which they actually occurred as to have
been imposed upon them by the Evangelist. If, in the course of
St. Peter's missionary work at Rome, there was any call (as there
could scarcely fail to be) for a systematic nairative of the Messiah's
career on earth, the Apostle would not have omitted, on occasion,
to arrange his recollections in a sequence corresponding to the facts,
so far as he could recover them. If the order in which the several
episodes are placed is due to the writer of the Gospel, and not to
his informant, it is surprising that he has not done more in the way
of connecting them logically together by supplying such links between
different incidents as a modern reader expects but misses (see p. 9),
Especially noteworthy is the absence of any explanation why our
Lord left Galilee for Phoenicia (7. 24). It appears, therefore, in-
trinsically probable that St. Mark's narrative in the main repro-
14
196 MARK, INT.
duces the real order of Jesus' movements as He traversed Galilee
and the neighbourhood of the Gahlaean Lake (see p. 8).
It is necessary, however, to remember that ancient and modern
methods of writing " history n have little in common (cf. p. 9) ;
and in any case the Gospel of St. Mark is not the production of one
who was himself an observer of all that it contains. But a statement
in the Muratorian Catalogue that the Evangelist was present at
certain of the scenes he describes (if this is the meaning of the
original1) finds some support in the reference to the young man who
witnessed the arrest of Jesus, and who evaded those who tried to
seize him (14. 51, 52); there seems no reason for the mention of such
an incident except the personal interest which it had for the actual
writer of the Gospel. The mother of John Mark was the Mary to
whose dwelling St. Peter proceeded after his escape from prison at
Jerusalem (Acts 12. 12) ; and it has been conjectured that it may
have been at her house that the Last Supper was held. If St. Mark
was at Jerusalem when Jesus went there from Galilee, he must have
been an eye-witness of some of the last events of our Lord's life,
though in connection with the Gahlaean Ministry he would be
dependent for information upon St. Peter.
Confirmation of the tradition that it was to St. Peter that St.
Mark was most indebted is furnished by the numerous occasions
on which that Apostle figures in the Gospel (i. 36; 8. 29, 32; 9. 5;
10. 28; ii. 21 ; 14. 29, 37, 54). For everything which he derived from
that Apostle he had a first-hand authority, inasmuch as St. Peter
was not only one of the Twelve, but was also included in a smaller
group of Three who accompanied Jesus on special occasions. In
regard to the care with which St. Mark reported St. Peter's teach-
ing, it may be expedient to reproduce Papias' words : " Mark made
no mistake . . . for he made it his purpose to omit nothing of
what he heard, or to set down any false statement in regard to it "
In connection with the account of the Crucifixion and its sequel it
may be conjectured that some details were derived from Simon of
Cyrene and the women who, after the Lord's death, visited the tomb
(15. 21 ; 16. i f.).
The place where the Second Gospel was written was (as has
been said) probably Rome, for there St. Mark was St. Peter's follower
(/ Pet. 5. 13). The date is the subject of some dispute. If St.
Peter was not at Rome before St. Paul's imprisonment there (and
nothing in Acts suggests that he was), his teaching in that capital
and the recording of it by Mark must have been later than 61. As
has been seen, Irenseus represents the Gospel as having been written
after St. Peter's death; and since the Apostle probably perished
in the persecution of the Christians by Nero in 64, a plausible date
for the work is 65-67. On the other hand, if, as some scholars
think, Acts was written by St. Luke shortly after 61, St. Mark's
1 The Latin has a pronoun, which is ambiguous— quibus tamen
inter fuit; et ita posuif.
MARK, INT. 197
Gospel must have been produced much earlier, since it was used by St.
Luke in writing his own Gospel, which was anterior in origin to Acts;
and it has been suggested that it was composed at Jerusalem between
44 and 50, the writer having listened to St. Peter's instruction
before the latter's imprisonment by Herod Agrippa I (Acts la. 3),
and having written down his recollections of it* after the Apostle
had left the Jewish capital (Acts 12. 17). This opinion, however,
disregards the testimony furnished by Patristic tradition. That the
Gospel was intended chiefly for Gentile readers appears from the
explanations given of Jewish terms (3. 17; 7. n, 34; 15. 42) and
customs (7. 3, 4) ; that it was written in a Roman environment is
suggested not only by the transliteration into Greek of many Latin
words (legio, spectdator, denarius, census, quadrans, prtetorium, cen-
tnno]t but also by the expansion of our Lord's prohibition of divorce,
so as to make it cover Roman usage (which, unlike the Jewish,
permitted a woman to divorce her husband, 10. 12) ; and that it was
the work of one who was in sympathy with the views of St. Paul is
clear from the comment appended to Jesus* definition of what con-
stitutes defilement (7. 19; cf. / Cor. 8. 8).
It is probable that in one passage (ch. 13) there are incorporated
sections of a written document constituting parts of an Apocalypse
(the parenthetic address in v. 14 to a Reader is suggestive of this).
It is possible that the currency of an Apocalypse (of Jewish Christian
origin) is referred to by St Paul in / Th. 4. 15. If St. Mark has
really embodied portions of such an Apocalyptic document, he has
attached to it an Utterance of Jesus (13. 2). The fact that he takes
the " Abomination," mentioned in v. 14, to relate to the Antichrist
confirms the view that he wrote before the Fall of Jerusalem (70 A.D.),
in contrast to St. Luke, who re-wrote the passage seemingly after
that event had occurred.
The question whether the Gospel once existed in a somewhat
different form and on a smaller scale (such earlier edition being
conveniently designated Proto-Mark) has been raised by the circum-
stances (a) that Mt. and Liz , when reproducing Mk.t agree, on a few
occasions, in certain words where Mk. has different words; (b)
that a large portion of the Second Gospel is not used in the Third.
Instances of (a) can be seen by a comparison of Mk. 5. 27; 6. 14;
and 10. 30 with the parallels in Mt. and Lk. ; whilst under (b)
comes the absence from Lk. of Mk. 6. 45 — 8. 26. l It has been sug-
gested that the parts of Mk. which occur in Mt. but not in Lk. were
added to the Second Gospel after it had been employed by St. Luke,
but before it was used by the author of Mt. But it is doubtful
whether Lk. is much earlier than Mt.; and probably limits of space
caused St. Luke to omit some of the contents of Mk. in order to
include in his work matter to which he attached more importance
(p. 260). If Mk. really existed once in a shorter form than the pre-
sent book, and was afterwards expanded, it must have been enlarged
1 7- 32"37 afld 8. 22-26 are absent from Mt. also.
198 MARK, INT.
by the author himself, since the characteristic Marcan phraseology
occurs throughout the Gospel. Of the instances where Mt. and Lk.,
according to the traditional text, agree in their variations from
Mk., some disappear when the true text is ascertained, whilst the
rest are probably accidental coincidences.
Whether St. Mark was familiar with the document denoted by Q
(p. 123) is not quite certain. But the fact that he relates that angels
ministered to Jesus in the " desert " of Judaea (i. 13) seems to imply
a knowledge of Q's statement that Jesus was fasting at the time (Mt.
4. 2 = Lk. 4. 2); and the circumstance that he records comparatively
little of Jesus' Discourses suggests that he was acquainted with a
work possessing a number of them, and did not wish to repeat what
was contained in it.
The features of style distinguishing St. Mark which are cap-
able of being reproduced in an English translation include a fondness
for redundant phrases (see i. 28, 32 ; 2. 25 ; 4. i; 10. 30; 12. 44;
14. 30, 61), and a partiality for the present and imperfect tenses of
verbs, where a simple preterite would be more appropriate. He uses
repeatedly certain adverbs like again (2. i, 13; 3 i, 20; 4. i ; 5. 21 ;
7. 31 ; 8. i; 10. i, etc.) and straightway (ses especially i. 9-43; 4.
5-29; 6. 45-54). The construction of many of his sentences is that of
a writer accustomed to Semitic idioms, for two verbs are commonly
co-ordinated instead of one being subordinated to the other (as would
be usual with a native Greek author), whilst the connective particles
are few, and are repeated monotonously. In some passages he leaves
the subject of a verb unexpressed, where the insertion of it would
have prevented ambiguity (2. 15; 9 26).
The original end of the Gospel has seemingly been lost through
some injury to the earliest MS., for it is eminently unlikely that the
Gospel left its writer's hand with no other conclusion than the final
words of 1 6. 8; or that it failed to contain an account of the fulfil-
ment of the angelic message in 16. 7 Various existing MSS. supply
the loss by appending one or other of two additions (translated on
pp. 232-3), neither of which is in the style of St Mark. The longer
occurs in a large number of MSS (including the Alexandrine, the
Bezan, and the Freer Codices) and Versions (including an important
MS. of the Old Latin Version), but is absent from both the Vatican
and the Smaitic MSS. Between the first eight verses of ch 16 and
the additional twelve which are contained in most MSS. there is no
connection, for in the latter there is comprised a fresh narrative of
the Resurrection, which is independent of what is recorded in the
former. It appears to have been compiled from the endings of the other
Gospels and from the beginning of Acts by a writer acquainted with
them. In an Armenian MS. of the tenth century it is attributed to
Ariston (or Aristion), " a disciple of the Lord," who is mentioned by
Eusebius. Within it (as it is preserved in the Freer MS.) there is
found a curious interpolation, of which a rendering is furnished.
The shorter addition has very little documentary support, and its
diction suggests a second century origin.
MARK 1. 1—20 199
11 Of the Good News that was brought by Jesus Christ the
Beginning (2 in agreement with the prediction recorded
in the Prophet Isaiah —
" Lo, I despatch my messenger in advance of Thee,
Who will prepare Thy Way i1
3 " The Voice of One calling out in the desert,
* Get ye ready the Way of the LORD,
Make ye straight His Paths ' ")2
4 was the appearing of John the Baptizer in the desert region
west of the Dead Sea, proclaiming Baptism, conditional on
Repentance, for obtaining forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the
people of the Judaean country, and all the inhabitants of Jeru-
salem went forth in succession to hear him ; and were in turn
baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. 6 And
John (like one of the ancient Prophets*) was clothed with a mantle
of camel's hair and a leathern girdle round his loins; and he
subsisted on locusts and wild bees' honey. 7 And he delivered
continuously a proclamation in these words, " There is coming
He Who is mightier than I after me, Whose shoes' strap I am
too insignificant to be allowed to stoop down and unfasten. 8 I,
for my part, have baptized you with water, but He will baptize
you with Holy Spirit."
9 Now it happened at that time that Jesus came from Nazaret
in Galilee, and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 And
straightway, as He came up out of the water, He saw the
Heavens cleaving asunder and the Spirit descending as a dove
unto Him; n and a Voice was heard out of the Heavens,
" Thou art my Son, the Beloved : with Thee I am greatly
pleased."4
12 And straightway the Spirit impels Him to retreat into the
desert. 13 And He was in the desert for many weeks, being
put to the test by Satan ; and He was with the wild beasts, and
the angels from time to time ministered to His needs.
14 Now after John had been consigned to prison Jesus came
into Galilee proclaiming the Good News from God, and saying,
" The Decisive Hour has fully come, and the Dominion of God
is close at hand; repent and put faith in the Good News." 16
And as He was passing along beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw
Simon, and Andrew, Simon's brother, casting a net in the
sea, for they were fishermen ; 17 and Jesus from the shore
said to them in their fishing-vessel, " Come after me, and I will
make you become fishers for men." 18 So straightway leaving
their nets, they followed Him. 19 And having advanced a little
further, He saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother
John, also in their fishing-vessel, repairing their nets; 20 and
straightway He called them. So they, leaving their father
1 Mai. 3. i ; divergent. 2 Is. 40. 3 ; slightly divergent. 3 See
77 Kg. i. 8, mg. ; cf. Zech. 13. 4. 4 Cf. Ps. 2. 7; divergent.
200 MARK 1. 21—43
Zebedee in the vessel, with the paid hands, went away after
Him.
2 1 And they proceed to Capernaum ; and straightway on the
Sabbath day He taught in the synagogue. 22 And people were
startled at the manner of His teaching, for He was teaching
them as one who possessed authority, and not as the divines
taught. 23 And straightway there was in their synagogue a
man rendered demented by a foul spirit; and he screamed out,
24 exclaiming, " What concern have you with creatures like us,
O Jesus the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know
Who you are — You are the Holy One of God." 25 But Jesus
checked the demon with the words, " Be still, and come forth
out of him." 26 So the spirit, the foul spirit, after throwing
him into convulsions and shouting loudly, came .forth out of
him. 27 And all were astounded, so that they discussed it to-
gether, exclaiming, "What is the meaning of this? What a
fresh manner of teaching ! Even to the spirits — the foul spirits —
He'gives orders with authority, and they submit to Him!" 28
And His fame went abroad straightway into the whole neigh-
bourhood of Galilee in all directions. '29 And straightway on
coming out of the synagogue He went with James and John
into the house of Simon and Andrew. 30 And the mother-in-
law of Simon was lying in bed, suffering from fever : so straight-
way people tell Him about her. 31 And He, coming up, took
hold of her hand and raised her; and the fever left her, and she
waited upon them. 32 And when it had grown late, after the
sun had set, they brought to Him one after another all those
who were in bad health and those who were demon-ridden ; 33
and the whole town had congregated at the door. 34 And
He cured many who through various diseases were in bad health,
and expelled many demons; and He would not let the demons
speak, because they knew Him to be Christ. 35* And early
next morning, whilst it was still very dark, He got up and went
forth to a lonely spot and there prayed. 36 And Simon and
those with him followed Him up closely, and found Him ; 37
and they say to Him, " All are looking for you." 38 And He
says to them, " Let us go elsewhere into the adjoining country-
towns, in order that there, too, I may make proclamation ; for
it was for this purpose that I came forth from Capernaum." 39
So He went, making proclamation in their synagogues throughout
the whole of Galilee, and expelling the demons. 40 And there
comes to Him a leper, appealing to Him, and, on his knees, say-
ing to Him, " If you have the will, you have the power, to
cleanse me." 41 And He was moved with sympathy, and
stretching out His hand, He touched him and says to him, " I
have the will: be cleansed." 42 And straightway the leprosy
left him, and he was cleansed. 43 And Jesus straightway got rid
are not reproduced in Mt.
MARK 1. 44—2. 17 201
of him, and says to him with insistence, 44 " Take care that
you tell no one anything, but go off, show yourself to the priest
officiating at Jerusalem, and offer for your cleansing what Moses
directed, to notify to people that you are cured." 45 But he,
on going out, began to proclaim eagerly ivhat had happened to
him, and to spread abroad the account of it, so that Jesus could
no longer enter a town openly, but remained outside in lonely
places ; and people used to come to Him from every quarter.
21 And when, after some days' interval, He had again entered
Capernaum, it was heard that He was indoors. 21 And
numbers gathered together, so that there was not room for them
even by the door; and He proceeded to tell His Message to them.
3 And some persons come bringing unto Him a paralytic, carried
by four men. 4 But since they could not bring him actually up
to Him on account of the crowd, they stripped the flat roof over
the spot where He was; and having broken through it, they
lower the pallet on which the paralytic was lying. 5 And Jesus,
seeing their faith, says to the paralytic, ** My child, your sins
are forgiven." 6 But there were some of the divines seated
there, arguing in their minds, 7 " Why does this man talk thus?
He utters blasphemy : who can forgive sins but God only?" 8
And straightway Jesus, being conscious that they were inwardly
arguing thus, says to them, 9 " Why are you arguing in this
way in your minds? Which is the easier, to say to the paralytic,
* Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ' Rouse yourself, take up
your pallet and walk?' 10 But to convince you that the Son of
man has authority upon the earth to forgive sins " — He says to the
paralytic — u " I say to you, Raise yourself, take up your
pallet, and go to your home." 12 And the man roused him-
self, and straightway, having taken up his pallet, went out in
front of them all ; so that they were all astonished, and gave glory
to God, saying, " We have never seen the like."
13 And He went out again beside the Sea of Galilee, and all
the crowd continually resorted to Him, and He used to teach
them. 14 And as He passed along, He saw Levi, the son of
Alphaeus, seated at the Customs-house, and says to him, " Follow
me." So he got up and followed Him. 15 It happens subse-
quently that Jesus occupies as a guest a seat at his table in his
house; and a number of Customs-house Officers and irreligious
characters also seated themselves at table with Jesus and His
disciples (they were a large number, and were followers of His).
16 And the divines of the Pharisees' party, seeing that He was
taking a meal with the irreligious characters and Customs-house
Officers, said to His disciples, " It is with Customs-house Officers
and irreligious characters that He is taking a meal!" 17 And
Jesus, hearing it, says to them, ** It is not the strong who need
1 2. 2 is not reproduced in ML and Lk.
202 MARK 2. 18—3. 6
a doctor, but those who are in bad health. I came to Call, not
righteous, but irreligious, characters."
18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were keeping a
fast; and people come and say to Him, " Why is it that, though
the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees keep fasts,
your disciples neglect to keep fasts?" 19 And Jesus said to
them, " Can the groomsmen keep a fast while the bridegroom
is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them,
they cannot keep a fast. 20 But there will come days when the
Bridegroom has been taken away from them, and, then, at that
time, they will keep a fast. 21 No one sews a patch of an un-
shrunken strip of cloth upon an old garment; else the filling —
the unworn filling of the old garment — when it shrinks, tears
away a piece from it, and a worse rent occurs. 22 And no one
puts new wine into old leather-bottles; else, when fermentation
ensues, the wine will burst the leather-bottles, and the wine is
ruined, and the leather-bottles, too. No : put new wine into
fresh leather-bottles.'*
23 And it happened that on the Sabbath day He was passing
on His way through the corn-fields, and His disciples began to
make a path by plucking the ears for eating, 24 And the
Pharisees said to Him, " See! Why are they doing on the Sab-
bath day what is unlawful?"1 And He says to them, 25 " Have
you never re'ad of what David did when he was in need, and
felt hungry, he and those who were along with him?2 — 26 how
he entered into the House of God, in the High-priesthood of
Abiathar,3 and ate the Loaves of Oblation presented before God,
which it is unlawful for any but the priests to eat,4 and gave
some also to those who were along with him?" 27 And He said
to them, " The Sabbath was made for the sake of man, and
not man for the sake of the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of man
has authority even over the Sabbath."
31 And He entered again into a synagogue, and a man was
there whose arm had become withered. 2 And people were
watching Jesus narrowly to see whether He would effect a cure
on the Sabbath day, that they might bring a charge against
Him. 3 And He says to the man whose arm was withered,
" Rouse yourself and stand in the middle." 4 And He says to
them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do a service or to
do an injury? to save life or to kill?" But they kept silence. 5 So
after looking about upon them in anger, ' distressed at their
moral obtuseness, He says to the man, " Stretch out your arm ";
and he stretched it out, and his arm was restored." 6 And the
Pharisees went out, and straightway, in concert with the
1 Ex. 20. 9, 10. 2 See / Sam. 21. * The Sept. has Abimeleeh,
the Heb. Ahimclech. 4 Lev. 24. 5-9.
MARK 3. 7—28 203
adherents of Herod, proceeded to engage in counsel against Him,
considering how to destroy Him.
7 And Jesus with His disciples retired to the Sea, and a
great concourse from Galilee followed; and from Judaea, 8 from
Jerusalem, from Idumsea, from the further side of the Jordan,
and from the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great concourse, hear-
ing all that He was doing, came unto Him. 91 And He told
His disciples to see that a boat was in attendance upon him,
on account of the crowd, to prevent people from pressing on
Him ; 10 for He cured many persons, so that all who had
distressing maladies threw themselves upon Him in an effort
to touch Him. n And the spirits — the foul spirits — when they
beheld Him, used to throw themselves down before Him and
cry out, exclaiming, " You are the Son of God!11 12 And He
kept cautioning them sternly not to disclose Him.
13 And He climbs the hillside and calls to Him those whom
He wanted; and they went to join Him. 14 And He appointed
Twelve, whom He likewise designated Apostles, that they might
be with Him, 15 and that He might send them as emissaries
to make proclamation about the Dominion of God, and to possess
authority enabling them to expel the demons. 16 So He
appointed the Twelve — Peter (conferring the name on Simon), 17
and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James
(and He conferred on them the name " *B'nerogez,*" that is,
" Men whose rage is like a thunderstorm "), 18 and Andrew,
and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and
James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon (" the
Cananaean," " Zealot "), iq and Judas, the man of Kerioth,
who actually delivered Him up to His enemies.
2O2 And He goes into a house, and again a crowd comes to-
gether, so that they were unable even to take a meal. 21 And
the members of His family, hearing of it, left home to seize
Him, for people were saying that He was beside Himself. 22
And the divines who had come down from Jerusalem said re-
peatedly, " He has Beelzebul in Him," and, " It is by the aid
of the Ruler of the demons that He expels the demons." 23 So
having called them to Him, He told them by means of illustra-
tions what He thought about their reasoning' " How can Satan
expel Satan? If a realm should be rent with internal discord,
that realm is unable to last; 25 and if a house should be rent
with internal discord, that house will be unable to last. 26 So
if Satan is in insurrection against himself, and is rent with dis-
cord, he is unable to last, but comes to an end. 27 Why, no
one, after entering into the house of a strong man, can despoil
his goods unless he has first bound the strong man : then, but
only then, will be despoil his house. 28 In truth I tell you, there
1 3. 9 is not reproduced in Mt. and Lk. 2 3. 20, 21 are not
reproduced in Mt. and Lk.
204 MARK 3. 28—4. 13
will be forgiven to mankind all their sins and all the blasphemies
that they have uttered; 29 but whosoever blasphemes the Holy
Spirit never has forgiveness, but is liable to the guilt of an
eternal sin." 30* This He said because they continued to repeat,
" He has a foul spirit in Him."
31 And there come His mother and His brothers; and they,
stopping outside, sent some one to Him, to call Him. 32 Now a
crowd was seated about Him; and they say to Him, " Look!
your mother and your brothers outside want you." 33 But He
in reply says to them, " Who is my mother and who are my
brothers?" 34 And turning His glance upon those seated round
about Him, He says, " See, here are my mother and my
brothers! 35 Whoever shall carry out the will of God, that
person is my brother or sister or mother."
41 And again He began to teach by the edge of the sea.
And a vast crowd gathers round Him, so that He went on
board a fishing-vessel, and sat in if, out on the sea, whilst all
the crowd were close to the sea upon the shore. 2 And He con-
tinued to teach them much about His Message by means of
allegories ; and He proceeded to say to them in the course of His
teaching, 3 ** Listen! There went forth a sower to sow. 4
And it happened that, as he sowed, some part of the seed fell
on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5
And another part fell on rocky ground, where it had not much
soil ; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no depth of
earth ; 6 but when the sun rose high, it was scorched ; and
because it had no root, it withered. 7 And another part fell into
thorn-bushes, and the thorns came up and completely choked it ;
so that it yielded no crop. 8 And other seeds fell into the soil
that was fertile, and yielded a crop, springing up and increasing,
and bore at the rate of thirty times or sixty times or a hundred
times the quantity sown." 9 And He said, *' Let him that has
ears to hear with, listen." 10 And when He was by Himself,
those around Him, along with the Twelve, asked Him about
the allegories iha\ He had used, n And He said to them, " To
you has been granted the Secret concerning the Dominion of
God; but to them who are outside your company all instruction
is given by means of allegories, 12 in order that, as a penalty
for previous indifference, they,
" Possessed of sight, may see, yet not perceive ;
And possessed of hearing, may hear, yet not understand ;
Lest someday they should reform, and their sins be forgiven
them."2
13 And He says unto them, ** Do you not comprehend the mean-
ing of this allegory? how, then, are you to get acquainted with
1 3. 30 is not reproduced in Mt. and Lk. 2 Is. 6. 9, n ; abbre-
viated and divergent.
MARK 4. 15—32 205
the meaning of all my allegories? 15 The Sower sows God's
Message. They who are ' on the edge of the path ' where the
Message is sown, are such as these : when they have heard it,
Satan straightway comes and takes away the Message that has
been sown in them. 16 And they who are sown ' upon the rocky
places ' are likewise these — persons who, when they have heard
the Message, straightway receive it with joy; 17 yet they have
not got it rooted in them, but their acceptance of it is tem-
porary : then, when affliction or persecution occurs on account of
the Message, straightway their faith in it is shaken. 18 And
they who are sown ' in the thorn-bushes ' are others : these are
they that have heard the Message, 19 but the anxieties of the
present Age and the delusiveness of riches and the desires for
the rest of the world's attractions, getting entrance into them,
completely choke the Message, and it proves unfruitful. 20 And
they who were sown * upon the soil that was fertile,' are those
people who hear the Message and accept it, and produce a crop
at the rate of thirty times or sixty times or a hundred times the
quantity sown."
21 And He said to them, " Is the lamp brought into a room
to be put under an up-turned corn-measure, or beneath the bed?
Is it not brought in to be put on the lamp-stand? 22 For
nothing is hidden for a while except to be disclosed at last; and
nothing has been kept secret for a while but to come to light at
last, 23 If anyone has ears to hear with, let him listen."
24 And He said to them, " Consider well what it is that you
hear : the same measure that you deal out to others will be
dealt out to you, and you will get more than that besides. 25
For to him who has, will more be given ; and from him who
lacks, even what he has will be taken away."
26l And He said, " The extension of the Dominion of God is
like the growth of a seed. It becomes enlarged as secretly as a
seed swells after a man has dropped it into the ground : 27
whilst he sleeps during night and rises during day, the seed
sprouts and the stalk lengthens mysteriously, in a way that the
man fails to comprehend. 28 The soil bears the crop spontane-
eously; first it produces the green blade, then the ear, then
the full grain of wheat in the ear. 29 But as soon as the state
of the crop admits, straightway the man sends forth the reapers
with the sickle, for the reaping time is at hand." 30 And on
another occasion He said, " How are we to illustrate the
Dominion of God, or by what parable are we to picture it, in a
different aspect? 31 In the contrast between its earliest stages
and its final development we will picture it as, we will illustrate
it by, a grain of mustard, which, though being, when it is sown
upon the earth, the smallest of all seeds that are upon the earth,
32 yet, after it has been sown, springs up and becomes taller
1 4. 26-29 are not reproduced in Mt. and Lk.
206 MARK 4. 33—5. 11
than any of the garden herbs, and produces great branches, so
that the wild birds can roost under its shade." 33 And with the
help of many such allegories and parables He used to tell His
Message to them, so far as they were able to listen to it; 34
but without an allegory or parable He did not talk to them,
though privately to His" own disciples He used to explain every-
thing.
35 And on that day, when it had grown late, He says to
them, " Let us pass over to the further side of the Sea of
Galilee." 36 So leaving the crowd, they take Him with them,
as He was, in the fishing vessel ; and there were other vessels
also accompanying Him. 37 And a violent squall occurs, and
the waves were dashing into the vessel, so that at last the vessel
began to fill. 38 He Himself was in the stern on the cushion,
sleeping; so they awake Him and say to Him, "Teacher, does
it not matter to you that we are perishing?" 39 So He,
thoroughly roused, checked the wind, and said to the sea,
" Hush, be still." And the wind lulled and there ensued a pro-
found calm. 40 And He said to them, " Why are you so timid?
have you not yet faith?" 41 And they were struck with great
awe; and repeatedly said to one another, " Who, then, can
this man be seeing that both the wind and the sea submit to
Him?"
51 And they came to the further side of the Sea into the
country of the Gerasenes. 2 And after He had landed from
the vessel, there straightway met Him a man coming from the
grave-yard, who had been rendered demented by a foul spirit.
3 He had taken up his abode in the burial ground; and by this
time no one could confine him even with a chain ; 4 because he
had frequently been confined with fetters and chains, but the
chains had been wrenched apart by him, and the fetters had been
smashed in pieces ; and no one was capable of mastering him.
51 And continually both at night and in the day time he was in
the burial ground or among the hills, crying out and hacking
himself with stones. 6 And when he caught sight of Jesus from
a distance, he ran and did reverence to Him ; 7 and screaming
at the top of his voice, he exclaims, " What concern have you
with a creature like me, O Jesus, Son of the Most High God?
I adjure you by God, do not torture me"; (8 for Jesus was
saying to him, " Come forth out of the man, foul spirit "). 9
And He asked him, " What is your name?" And he says to
Him, ** Regiment is my name, because there is a host of us."
10 And he repeatedly begged Him with great earnestness not
to send them away out of the country, n Now there, along the
hill-side, there was a great drove of pigs feeding. And the
demons appealed to Him, pleading, " Send us into the pigs, that
1 5. 5 is not reproduced in Ml. and Lk.
MARK 5. 13—34 207
we may enter into them." 13 So He permitted them to do so.
And the foul spirits, having left the man, entered into the pigs;
and the drove rushed down the steep into the sea, about two
thousand in number; and they were drowned one after another
in the sea. 14 And the swineherds fled and reported it in the
town, and at the farms ; and the people went to see what it was
that had happened. 15 And they come to Jesus and they observe
the demon-ridden man seated, clothed and in his senses — the
man who had had the " Regiment " oj demons — and they were
struck with awe. 16 And the spectators related to them how it
had fared with the demon-ridden man, and about the pigs. 17
And they began to beg Jesus to leave their territory. 18 And
as He was going on board the vessel, the former demon-ridden
man again and again appealed to Him to be allowed to accom-
pany Him. 19 He did not let him, however, but says to him,
" Go off to your home, to your people ; and report to them every-
thing that the LORD has done for you, and how He took pity on
you." 20 So he departed, and began to proclaim in the Federa-
tion of the Ten Towns everything that Jesus had done for him ;
and all were filled with wonder.
21 And when Jesus had crossed in the vessel to the opposite
side again, a great crowd flocked to Him ; so He stayed by the
edge of the sea. 22 And there comes one of the Wardens of the
neighbouring synagogue, Jairus by name; and as soon as he had
caught sight of Him, he throws himself at His feet, 23 and
appeals to Him earnestly, saying, " My little daughter^ is
desperately ill. I want you to come and place your hands upon
her, that she may get well and live." 24 So He went away
with him, and a great crowd persisted in following Him, and
pressing close upon Him. 25 And a woman, who had been
afflicted with haemorrhage for eleven years, 26 and had suffered
much under the treatment of many doctors, and had expended
all her means without deriving any benefit (on the contrary,
she had grown worse), 27 having heard what was told about
Jesus, came among the crowd behind, and touched His outer
garment, 28 for she said, " If I touch but His garments, I shall
get well." 29 And straightway the source of her haemorrhage
dried up ; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her dis-
tressing malady. 30 And straightway Jesus, becoming conscious
that the healing Power within Him had been in active operation,
turned round to the crowd and said, " Who touched my gar-
ments?" 31 And His disciples said to Him, " You see the
crowd pressing close upon you, and yet you say, * Who touched
me?' " 32 But He continued to look about to catch sight of
her who had done this. 33 And the woman, frightened and
trembling (since she knew what had happened to her) came and
threw herself before Him and told Him all the truth. 34 And
He said to her, " My daughter, your faith has made you well,
go, and God bless you; and be relieved of your distressing
208 MARK 5. 35—6. 12
malady.1' 35 Whilst He was still talking, some persons come out
of the Warden's house with the message, " Your daughter has
died ; why do you trouble the Teacher any longer?" 36 But Jesus,
ignoring the message that was communicated, says to the
Warden, " Do not be afraid; only continue to have faith." 37
And He let none attend Him except Peter, James, and John the
brother of James. 38 And they come to the Warden's home,
and He notices a noise, people weeping and wailing bitterly ; 39
so, entering, He says to them, " Why are you making a noise,
and weeping? the young child has not died but is asleep." 40
And they derided Him. But He, after turning all of them out,
takes with Him the child's father, and her mother, and those
who were accompanying Him, and proceeds to the room where
the young child was. 41 And taking hold of the young child's
hand, He says to her, " Talitha, kum " (whicn, translated,
means " Little girl, I say to you, get up "). 42 And straight-
way the little girl rose, and began to walk (for she was eleven
years old). And straightway they were filled with the utmost
amazement. 43 And He strictly enjoined them to let no one
know it ; and said that something should be given her to eat.
61 And He went forth from thence, and goes to His native
place, His disciples attending Him. 2 And when a Sabbath
had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And the
large congregation, hearing Him, were startled, exclaiming,
"Whence does this man get these endowments of His? and
what can be the explanation of this wisdom that has been given
to Him? and of such acts of Power as these that take place
through His means? 3 Is not He the artisan, the son of Mary
and brother of James and Joseph and Jude and Simon? and are
not His sisters here, close by us?" So they found in His humble
circumstances an impediment to belief in His Mission. 4 And
Jesus said to them, " A prophet does not lack honour except on
his native soil and amongst his own relations and in his own
house." 5 And He could not do any act of Power there,
beyond laying His hands upon a few invalids and curing them.
6 And He was filled with astonishment on account of their want
of faith. And He made a circuit of the villages around, teach-
ing. 7 And He calls to Him the Twelve and began to send them
by pairs on a mission, and proceeded to give them authority over
the spirits — the foul spirits— 8 and charged them to take
nothing for a journey except a stick only — no bread, no wallet,
not even a copper coin in their pocket; 9 but to go shod with
sandals; and " do not (said He) put on two un4er-garments."
10 And He said to them, " Wheresoever you enter into a house,
to lodge in it, there stay until you go forth from thence, n And
should any place have failed to welcome you, or its people have
failed to listen to you, when you depart from thence, shake off
the soil that is under your feet as a protest to them." 12 So
MARK G. 13—31 209
when they had gone forth, they proclaimed that people must
repent; 13 and from time to time they expelled many demons,
and anointed with oil many invalids, and effected cures.
14 And King Herod Antipas heard of it, for Jesus' reputation
had been made public, and people were saying, *' John the
Baptizer is raised to life from among the dead; and it is for this
reason that there are active in Him the exceptional Powers of
which we hear. 15 Others said, " He is Elijah"; and others
said, " He is a new Prophet, like one of the ancient Prophets."
1 6 But Herod, when he heard of Him, said, " John, whom I
myself beheaded — it is he that has been raised to life." 17 For
Herod himself had sent and seized John, and put him in chains
in prison, on account of Herodias, the wife of Herod IJhilip, his
brother (because he had married her), iS1 for John** said to
Herod, *' It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19 And Herodias harboured resentment against him ; and wished
to kill him, but could not, 20 for Herod was afraid of John,
knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept close
watch over his safety. And after hearing him attentively, he
used to be deeply perplexed, though he liked to listen to him.
21 And on the occurrence of an opportune day, when Herod,
on his birthday, gave a banquet to his magnates, his military
Officers, and the principal men of Galilee, 22 his daughter —
Herodias1 daughter — came in and danced ; and she delighted
Herod and the guests who were seated with him at his table.
And the king said to the young girl, " Ask of me whatever you
wish, and I will give it to you " ; 23 and he swore with an
oath to her, 4< Whatsoever you ask of me I will give it to you,
up to half of my dominion." 24 So she went out and said to
her mother, " What am I to request?" And she said, "The
head of John the Baptizer." 25 Thereupon entering straightway
in haste into the king's presence, she put her request, saying,
" I want you to give me at once on a dish the head of John
the Baptist." 26 And the king, though very grieved, yet on
account of his repeated oaths, and of the guests who were seated
at his table, did not wish to break faith with her. 27 So the
king straightway despatched a military executioner and ordered
him to bring his head. 28 So the man went away and beheaded
him in the prison, and brought his head on a dish and gave it
to the young girl, and the young girl gave it to her mother. 29
And his disciples, hearing of it, came and took away his corpse
and laid it in a tomb.
30 And the Apostles gather together and rejoin Jesus, and
reported to Him all that they had done and all that they had
taught. 31 And He says to them, 4< Come by yourselves privately
to some lonely spot, and rest awhile." For those who were
coming and going were numerous; and the Apostles had no
1 6. 18-29 are not reproduced in Lk.
210 MARK 6 32—54
opportunity even for a meal. 32 So they departed in the fishing
vessel to a lonely spot privately. 33 Many people, however, saw
them going off, and recognized Him ; and from all the towns they
ran thither by land, and got there before them. 34 So He, on
landing, saw an immense crowd; and He was moved with sym-
pathy for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
And He began to impart to them much instruction. 35 And
when at last an advanced hour had beep reached, His disciples,
coming up to Him, said, " The spot is a lonely one, and already
it is an advanced hour : dismiss them, that they may go away
to the farms and villages around and buy for themselves some-
thing to eat.1' 37 But He, in answer, said to them, " Give them
yourselves something to eat." And they say to Him, " Are we
to go and buy fifty pounds' worth of loaves, and give them some-
thing to eat?" 38 And He says to them, " How many loaves
have you got? go and see." And having ascertained, they say,
" Five, and two dried fish." 39 And He gave orders to them
that all were to be seated in parties on the green turf. 40 So
they seated themselves by hundreds and fifties m orderly group*,
appearing like so many trim garden-beds. 41 And He took the
five loaves and the two dncd fish, and looking up to Heaven, He
asked a Blessing, and broke up the loaves into portions, and
proceeded to give them to the disciples for them to set before the
people; and the two fish He divided between all. 42 And all ate
and satisfied their hunger. 43 And the disciples took up broken
portions of the bread sufficient to fill twelve hand-baskets, and
also what was left of the fish. 44 And those that had eaten the
loaves were five thousand adult men.
451 And He straightway constrained His disciples to go on
board the vessel and to precede Him to the further side, to-
wards Bethsaida, whilst He Himself dismisses the multitude.
46 And having said farewell to them, He went up the hillside to
pray. 47 And when it had grown late, the vessel was far out
on the sea, whilst He was alone on the land. 48 And seeing
them labouring in their rowing (for they had a head wind), He
comes unto them in the course of the fourth watch — the last
three hours — of the night, walking over the sea. And He
wanted to pass by them ; 49 but they, catching sight of Him
walking upon the sea, thought, " It is an apparition!" and
shrieked out ; 50 for all saw Him and became unnerved. But
He straightway talked with them and says to them, " Courage ;
it is I ; do not be afraid." 51 And He climbed up into the vessel
to join them, and the wind lulled. 52 And they were secretly
astonished — extremely astonished — for they had failed to under-
stand, on the occasion of the Loaves, the extent of His power:
their intelligence was still obtuse. 53 And having crossed over,
they came to the shore at Gennesaret; and anchored there. 54
1 6. 45 — 8. 26 are not reproduced in Lk.
MARK 6. 55—7. 15 211
And when they had landed from the vessel, people straightway
recognized Him; 55 and they ran round over the whole of that
countryside, and began to carry about upon pallets those who
were in bad health to the place where they heard that He was.
56 And wherever He went into villages or into towns or to
farms, they laid the infirm from time to time in the market-places,
and appealed to Him that they might be allowed to touch but
the sacred tassel of His outer robe; and all who touched Him
used to recover.
71 And there gather round Him the Pharisees and some of
the divines who had come from Jerusalem ; 2 and seeing
some of His disciples taking their meals with " defiled," that is,
with unwashed hands (3* for the Pharisees and all the Jews
refrain from eating unless they have washed their hands, rubbing
them well, since they retain the traditional rules of the Elders;
4 and when they return from marketing, they refrain from eating
a meal unless they have first sprinkled themselves; and there
are many other practices which they have received to be retained
— dippings of drinking cups and pint-measures and copper
vessels), 5 the Pharisees and the divines ask Him : " Why
do not your disciples conduct themselves in accordance with the
traditional rules of the Elders, but take a meal with * defiled '
hands?" 6 And He said to them, " Aptly did Isaiah w the
name of God prophesy about you, the hypocrites that you are, as
it is recorded : —
" This people honoureth me with their lips,
But their heart is far from me;
7 Insincerely do they reverence me,
Teaching as Divine doctrines merely human commands :"2
8 You set aside the command of God but retain the traditional
rules of men." 9 And He went on to say to them, " Finely do
you stultify the command of God, that you may keep your tradi-
tional rules. 10 For Moses said, * Honour thy father and thy
mother,' and * He who shews disregard for father or mother must
be put to death.13 n But you, on the contrary, say, * If a man
tells his father or his mother, " Whatever help you may have
counted on getting from me is * Corban ' " (that is, * a gift
dedicated to God ')," — 12 then you no longer let him do any-
thing for his father or his mother, 13 invalidating the injunction
of God by your traditional rules, which vou have handed down.
And many such things of a like kind you practise." 14 And hav-
ing called the crowd to Him again, He said to them, " All of you
listen to me and understand. 15 There is nothing from outside a
man which, by passing into him, can defile him ; but the things
which proceed out of a man are the things which defile a man."
1 7. 3-4 are not reproduced in Mt. 2 Is. 29. 13; slightly abbre-
viated and divergent. * Ex. 20. 12*; 21. 17, Heb.
15
212 MARK 7. 17—6. 1
17 And after He had gone indoors, away from the crowd, His
disciples questioned Him about the enigmatic saying which He
had just uttered. 18 And He says to them, " Are you, too, so
unintelligent ? do you not comprehend that everything which
passes from outside into a man cannot defile him, 19 because
it does not pass into his mind but into his stomach, and passes
out into the drain ?" (these words of His pronouncing all kinds of
food to be " clean "). 20 And, continuing, He said, " What pro-
ceeds out of a man — that it is which defiles a man. 21 For from
within, out of the mind of men, the thoughts which are evil
proceed : immoralities, 22 thefts, murders, adulteries, acts of
licentiousness, wickednesses, treachery, debauchery, niggardli-
ness, defamation, arrogance, senselessness. 23 All these wicked
things proceed from within, and defile a man."
24 And starting from thence He departed into the territory of
Tyre. And having entered into a house, He wished none to
know it; yet He could not escape notice; 25 but straightway a
woman, whose little daughter had a foul spirit in her, heard of
Him, and coming in, threw herself at His feet. 26 The woman
was a Greek-speaking foreigner, a Syro-phcenidan by race; and
she besought Him to expel the demon from her daughter. 27
And He said to her, " Let the children satisfy their hunger first;
for it is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the
little dogs." 28 But she, in reply, says to Him, " Certainly,
Sir; yet the little dogs underneath the table eat of the young
children's scraps." 29 And He said to her, " For this speech,
go; the demon has left your daughter." 30 And, having de-
parted to her home, she found the young child laid on the bed,
tranquil, and the demon gone.
31 And having retired again out of the territory of Tyre, He
went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee through the middle
of the territory of the Federation of the Ten Towns. 32 l And
people bring to Him a man who was deaf, and defective in
speech ; and they appeal to Him to place His hand upon him. 33
So having taken him away from the crowd privately, He put
His fingers into his ears and He touched his tongue with saliva ;
34 and looking up to Heaven, He sighed and says to him,
" Ephphatha " (that is "Open!"); 35 and the man recovered
his hearing, and his speech ceased to be impeded, and he talked
plainly. 36 And Jesus enjoined them to tell no one; but the
more He continued to do so, so much the more extensively did
they, on their part, continue to proclaim what had happened.
37 And people were startled beyond measure, saying, " How well
He has done everything 1 He enables both the deaf to hear and
mute persons to talk."
i About that time, when there was again an immense
crowd, and they had nothing to eat, He, calling to Him His
8
1 7. 32-37 are not reproduced in Mt.
MARK 8. 2—23 213
disciples, says to them, 2 " I am moved with sympathy for
the crowd, because it is now two days that they have continued
with me, and have had nothing to cat; 3 and if I dismiss them
hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way, and some of
them are from a distance. " 4 And His disciples answered Him,
" From what source will anyone be able to get supplies sufficient
to satisfy the hunger of these men with loaves of bread here in
a desert?" 5 And He asked them, " How many loaves have
you got?" And they said, " Seven." 6 So He gives word to
the crowd to seat themselves upon the ground. And having re-
ceived the seven loaves, and said Grace, He broke them into
portions, and proceeded to give them to His disciples to set
before them ; and they set them before the crovv d. 7 And they
had a few small dried fish. And having asked a Blessing over
them, He directed that these also were to be set before them. 8
So they ate and satisfied their hunger, and the disciples took
up of broken portions that were in excess seven large baskets
full. 9 (There were about four thousand persons). And He
dismissed them. 10 And straightway having embarked on the
\essel with His disciples, He went to the districts of Dalmanutha.
ii And the Pharisees came forth from thence, and began to
rnter into discussion with Him, wanting to get from Him a Sign
from Heaven by way of putting Him to a test ai regards His
Mission. 12 But He, sighing inwardly, says, " Why does this
generation want to get a Sign? In truth I tell you, there shall
not be given to this generation any Sign " 13 And leaving them,
He went on board again, and departed to the further side of the
Sea. 14 And His disciples had forgotten to bring any loaves ;
and, except for a single loaf, they had none with them in the
vessel. 15 And He gave them this injunction, saying, " Take
care, beware of the veast of the Pharisees and the yeast of
Herod." 16 And they argued with one another that He must
have said what He did because they had no loaves. 17 And He,
perceiving it, says to them, " Why do you argue that I must
have said what I did because you have no loaves? Do you not
vet comprehend or understand? Is your mind so obtuse? 18
Though you have eyes, do you fail to see, and though you, have
ears, do you fail to hear? And do you not recall, 19 when I
broke into portions the five loaves among the five thousand, how
many hand-baskets full of broken portions you took up?" They
say " Twelve." 20 " When / broke into portions the seven
loaves among the four thousand, how many large baskets filled
with broken portions did you take up?" 21 And they say to
Him, "Seven." And He said to them, "Do you not yet
understand?"
J22 And they come to Bethsaida. And people bring to Him a
blind man, and beg Him to touch him. 23 So, taking hold of
1 8 22-26 are not reproduced by either Mt. or Lk.
214 MARK 8. 24-9. 3
the blind man's hand, He brought him outside the village, and
having dropped saliva upon his eyes, He placed His hands upon
him and asked him, " Do you see anything?" 24 And he looked
up and said, " I see the people, because I perceive them (though
they seem like trees) walking about. " 25 Next, He put His
hands again upon his eyes, and he saw clearly, and was restored,
and beheld everything distinctly, even at a distance. 26 And He
sent him away to his home, with the direction, " Do not even
enter the village."
27 And Jesus went forth and His disciples into the villages of
Caesarea Philippi. And on the way He proceeded to question
His disciples, saying to them, " Whom do men declare me to
be?" 28 And they told Him, saying, " John the Baptist";
though others, * Elijah ' j1 and others assert merely that you are
one of the Prophets, without naming which." 29 And He con-
tinued to question them further: "But yotu — whom d)o you
declare me to be?" And Peter, in reply, says to Him, " You
are the Christ." 30 And He cautioned them to speak to no
one about Him. 31 And He began to teach them that the Son
of man must, in accordance with prophecy, suffer many outrages,
and be rejected by the Elders and the Chief Priests and the
divines, and be killed, and two days afterwards rise up to Life
32 And it was in plain terms that He made the statement. And
Peter, taking him aside, began to reprove Him for this utter-
ance. 33 But He, turning round, and seeing His disciples, re-
proved Peter, and says, " Get you behind me, Satan, because
your way of thinking is not God's way but man's." 34 And
having called to Him the crowd, together with His disciples, He
said to them, " If anyone wishes to come after me, he must
renounce himself and take up his Cross and follow me. 35 For
whosoever wishes to preserve his life will lose it ; and whosoever
shall lose his life through devotion to me and the Good News will
preserve it. 36 For what good will it do a man to gain the
whole world and to forfeit his true Life? 37 For what is a
man to give as an equivalent for his forfeited Life? 38 What I
have said will be verified hereafter. For whosoever shall feel
ashamed of me and of my Sayings in this disloyal and sinful
generation, the Son of man also will feel ashamed of him, when
He comes in the Glory of His Father with the Holy Angels."
91 And He said to them, " In truth, I tell you that there are
some of those who are standing here who will not taste the
bitterness of death until they have seen the Dominion of God
present in power."
2 And five days afterwards Jesus takes with Him Peter,
James, and John, and carries them up a high hill privately by
themselves. 3 And in their presence He was transfigured, and
* See Mai 4 5, Sept. ( = 3. a3, Heb.).
MARK 9. 4-21 216
His garments became glistening, and very white, whiter than
any bleacher on earth can bleach. 4 And there appeared to them
Elijah, together with Moses; and they were conversing with
Jesus. 5 And Peter, addressing Jesus, says to Him, " Rabbi,
it is a good thing that we are here to provide for your needs;
so let us erect three tents — for you one, and for Moses one, and
for Elijah one." 6 For he did not know what words to address
to Him under such conditions, for they had become terror-
stricken. 7 And there came a Cloud (the Symbol of God's
Presence)1 enveloping them, and there was heard a Voice out
of the Cloud, " This is my Son, the Beloved; give ear to Him."
8 And suddenly, when they looked about, they saw no one any
longer with them, except Jesus alone. 9 And as they descended
out of the seclusion of the hill, He enjoined them to relate to
no one what they had seen until after the Son of man should
have risen from among the dead. 10 So this injunction they kept
strictly, though discussing with one another what the Son of
man's " rising from among the dead " signified, n And they
put a question to Him, saying, " If the Son of man is to die,
why do the divines say that, before His advent, Elijah must
come first, to set right all things?"2 12 And He said to them,
" Elijah, it is true, coming first, sets right all things : how, then
(you mean), is a prediction recorded about the Son of man, that,
nevertheless, He is to suffer many outrages and be treated with
scorn?3 13* Well, I tell you that Elijah has actually come
(13° in agreement with a prediction recorded about him), i3b
yet people did to him all that they pleased. And will not the
Son of man also suffer at their hands?"
14 And when they came to the rest of the disciples, they saw
a great crowd around them, and some divines engaged in dis-
cussion with them. 15 And straightway the whole crowd, on
catching sight of Him, were dumbfounded at His aspect; and
running to Him they greeted Him. 16 And He asked them,
" What are you discussing with them?" 17 And one from
among the crowd answered Him, " Teacher, I brought to you
my son, who has in him a spirit that is mute; 18 and wherever
it takes hold of him, it dashes him down, and he foams at the
mouth, and grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid; and I told your
disciples to expel it, but they were incapable of doing so." 19
And He, addressing them, says, " O unbelieving generation, how
long am I to be by your side? how long am I to put up with you,
before you understand the powers that I have conferred upon you2
Bring him unto me." 20 So they brought him unto Him. And
when the boy saw Him, the spirit straightway threw him into
violent convulsions, and he fell to the ground, and rolled about,
foaming. 21 And Jesus asked his father, " How long is it since
1 See Ex. 16. 10; 19. 9, 16; 24. 15; 7 Kg. 8. 10; Ezck. 10 3, 4.
2 See Mai. 4. 5. • See Is. 53. 7, 8.
216 MARK 9. 22—42
this has happened to him? 22 And he said, " From childhood;
and frequently it has made him fling himself both into fire and
into water, to destroy him. If you can do anything, help us,
out of sympathy with us." 23 And Jesus said to him, " Why
this, * If you can '? Everything can be done for him that has
faith." 24 Straightway the father of the young boy exclaimed
with a cry, " I have faith; aid my deficient faith." 25 And
Jesus, seeing that a crowd was running up, checked the spirit —
the foul spirit — saying to it, " You mute and deaf spirit, it is
I that give you orders : leave him, and never again enter into
him." 26 And it came out, after screaming and throwing him
into repeated convulsions ; and the boy became like a corpse, so
that most of the onlookers said that he was dead. 27 But Jesus,
taking hold of his hand, raised him, and he got up. 28 And
when He had gone indoors, His disciples asked him privately,
II Why were we unable to expel it?" 29 And He said to them,
11 This kind of spirit can be forced to leave by no other power
than prayer."
30 And departing from thence they went on their way through
Galilee, and He wished none to know their movements. 31 For
He was instructing His disciples, and repeatedly said to them,
" The Son of man is lo be delivered up to the violence of men,
and they will kill Him ; but He, after being killed, will rise two
days later." 32 But they could make nothing of the expression,
and were afraid to question Him.
33 And they came to Capernaum. And when He was in the
house, He proceeded to ask them, " What was it about which
you were arguing on the road?" 34 And they kept silence,
for, on the road, they had been arguing with one another as to
which of them was greatest. 35 So Fitting down, He sum-
moned the Twelve and says to them, " If any wishes to be first,
he must be lowest of all and minister of all." 36 And taking
a young child, He set him in the middle of them ; and having
put His arm around him, He said to them, 37 " Whoever wel-
comes one of such young children on the strength of my Self-
revelation, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes
not me only but Him Who sent me on my mission."
38* John said to Him, " Teacher, we saw some one expelling
demons by using your Name, and we tried to stop him, because
he was not following us." 39 But Jesus said, " Do not stop
him, for there is none who "will perform a deed of Power on
the strength of my Self-revelation, and will be able the next
moment to vilify me. For he who is not against us is for us
41 For whosoever gives you a cup of water to drink on the score
of your being Christ's, in truth I tell you, will not fail to get
his recompense. 42 And whosoever shall occasion the downfall
of a single one of these lowly characters who believe on tne, it
1 9. 38-40 are not reproduced in Mt.
MARK 9. 43—10. 13 217
would be better if there were fastened about his neck a mill-stone
heavier than a man can turn, and he were at once thrown into
the sea. 43 l And if your hand should occasion your downfall,
cut it away : it is better for you to enter into the true Life
maimed, than keeping your two hands to go hence into Hell,
into the inextinguishable Fire. 45 And if your foot should
occasion your downfall, cut it away : it is better for you to enter
into the true Life a cripple than keeping your two feet to be
flung into Hell. 47 And if your eye should occasion your down-
fall, tear it out : it is better for you to enter with only one eye
into the Dominion of God than keeping two eyes to be flung
into Hell, 48 where the gnawing worm of remorse never
ceases, and the burning sense of having deserved God'\ Wrath
never ends. 49 For everyone must be salted and purified
through suffering, to become an acceptable offering for God's
altar fire.2 50 Salt is an excellent thing; but if the salt should
lose its saltness, by what means will you restore its flavour9
Have in yourselves the salt which keeps you pure-hearted, and
be at peace with one another."
"1 f\ i And starting from thence He goes into the territory
1- " of Judaea, though along the further side of the Jordan ;
and again crowds journey together to join Him ; and He again
continued to teach them as He was wont. 2 Now some Pharisees,
coming up to Him, proceeded to ask Him, " Is it lawful for a
husband to repudiate his wife?" thereby putting Him to a test
to see whether His teachmg conflicted with the Law of Moses.
And He in reply said to them, " What did Moses command
you?" 4 And they said, " Moses permitted a husband to draw
up a written notification of divorce, and then to repudiate his
wife."3 5 But Jesus said to them, " It was in view of your
moral insensibility that he put this command on record for you ;
6 but from the beginning of Creation
" God made them a male and a female.4
7 For the sake of this union a man shall leave his father and
his mother behind, 8 and the pair shall become one in respect
of physical relationships3 so that in respect of physical relation-
ships they are no longer two but one. 9 What, therefore, God
has closely united, man must not sunder." 10 And in the house
His disciples questioned Him again about this, n And He says
to them, u Whosoever repudiates his wife and marries another
woman commits adultery against the former; 12 and if the
wife, on her part, repudiates her husband and marries another
man, she commits adultery."
13 Now people were bringing to Him young children, that
1 9. 43-49 are not reproduced in Lk. ; vv. 48-49 are not reproduced
in Mt. 3 See Lev. 2. 13. 3 Dt 24. i. 4 Gen. i,
27b. 5 Gen 2. 24 ; cf. 29. 14
218 MARK 10. 14--32
He might touch them ; and His disciples checked them. 14 But
Jesus, when He saw It, was indignant, and said to them,
" Allow the young children to continue to come unto me; do
not forbid them, for the Dominion of God belongs to such char-
acters as theirs. In truth I tell you, whoever does not welcome
the Dominion of God, and instruction about it, in the spirit of
a young child, will not enter into it at all." 16 And after
putting His arms round them, He blessed them fondly, placing
His hands upon them.
17 And as He was leaving to resume His journey, a man
ran up, and kneeling before Him, proceeded to ask Him a
question, " Good Teacher, what am I to do in order to inherit
Eternal Life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, " Why do you term
me good? None is good except One — God. 19 You know
the Commandments, * Do not murder ' ; ' Do not be guilty of
adultery ' ; * Do not steal ' ; * Do not give false evidence ' ; 'Do
not defraud '; * Honour thy father and thy mother.' ni 20 And
he said to Him, " Teacher, all these I have kept very scrupu-
lously from my youth." 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved
him, and said to him, " One duty is left undone by you : go,
sell all that you have and give the proceeds to the needy, and
you will have treasure in Heaven, and come, follow me." 22
But his face clouded at the speech, and he departed distressed,
for he had much property. 23 So Jesus, looking about Him,
says to His disciples, " With what difficulty will those who have
money enter into the Dominion of God ! " 25* It is easier for a
camel to pass through the hole in a sewing-needle than for a
rich man to enter into the Dominion of God. 24* And His
disciples were astounded at His utterances. But Jesus, address-
ing them again, says to them, " Children, how difficult it is to
enter into the Dominion of God ! " 26 And they were startled
beyond measure, saying unto Him, " So who can be saved?"
27 Jesus, looking upon them, says, " With men it is impossible,
but not with God; for all things are possible with God." 28
Peter began to say to Him, " We, at any rate, you see, have
abandoned all and have followed you." 20 Jesus replied, " In
truth I tell you, there is no one who has abandoned house or
brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms for
the sake of me and for the sake of the Good News, 30 but will
get a hundredfold as much now in this Decisive Time — houses
and brothers and sisters and mothers and children, and farms,
accompanied by persecutions, and in the Coming Age Eternal
Life. 31 But many now first will be last, and the last first."
32 And they were still on the road going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus was in advance of the disciples ; and He was appalled
at the fate before Him; whilst they, as they followed, felt afraid.
1 Ev. 20 13-16, 12. 2 For v. 24 see below. 3 10. 24 is not
reproduced in Mi. and Lk.
MARK 10. 33-51 319
And again drawing to Him the Twelve, He began to tell them
what was about to befall Him. 33 " We are going up, as you
see, to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be delivered up to
the Chief Priests and the divines; and they will condemn Him
to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles, 34 and they
will mock Him, and will- spit upon Him, and will flog Him, and
will kill Him; and two days later He will rise to Life again."
351 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approach Him
with the request, " Teacher, we wish you to do for us whatever
we ask you." 36 And He said to them, " What do you wish
me to do for you?" 37 And they said to Him, " Grant to us
that we may sit one on the right side of you and one on the
left side in your Glory." 38 But Jesus said to them, " You do
not know what you are requesting : can you endure to drink the
cup of woe which I am to drink, or to be plunged into the
waters of calamity into which I am to be plunged?" 39 And
they said to Him, " We can." And Jesus said to them, " The
cup of woe which I am to drink you shall drink, and into the
waters of calamity into which I am to be plunged you shall bo
plunged ; 40 but a seat on the right side of me or on the other
side is not my prerogative to grant; but it will be given to
those for whom it is intended." 41 And the Ten, when they
heard of the request, began to be indignant with James and
John. 42 So, having called them to Him, Jesus says to them,
" You know that those who are reputed to rule over the Gentiles
exercise paramount lordship over them, and their great person-
ages exert paramount authority over them. 43 But not so is it
to be among you ; but whosoever amongst you wishes to become
great must wait upon the rest of you ; 44 and whosoever
amongst you wishes to be first must be servant of all. 45 For
even the Son of man has come, not to be waited on, but to
wait on others ; and to give His life as a ransom for the lives of
many."2
46 And they come to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho,
He and His disciples and a considerable crowd, the son of
Timaeus, Bar-Timaeus, a blind beggar, was seated by the road-
side. 47 And hearing that it was Jesus the Nazarene who was
passing, he began to raise a cry and to exclaim, " O Son of
David, O Jesus, have pity upon me." 48 And many repeatedly
tried to check him, telling him to be silent; but he continued to
cry out much more vociferously, " O Son of David, have pity upon
me." 49 And Jesus, stopping, said, " Summon him." So they
summon the blind man, saying to him, " Courage; rouse your-
self; He summons you." 50 And he, flinging off his outer gar-
ment, jumped up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus, addressing
him, said, "What do you wish me to do for you?" And the
1 10. 35-41 are not reproduced in Lk.; 38b, 39* are not in Mt.
2 Cf. Is. 53. 12*.
220 MARK 10. 52—11. 17
blind man said, " Rabboni (" Most honoured Teacher "), to
enable me to recover my sight." 52 And Jesus said to him,
" Go, your faith has made you well." And straightway he
recovered his sight and proceeded to follow Him on the road.
ni And when they draw near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage
and Bethany, by the mount of Olives, He sends two of
His disciples on an errand, 2 and says to them, " Go to the
village which is facing you, and straightway, as you enter into
it, you will find an ass's colt tethered, on which no man has yc\t
ridden : untie it and bring it. 3 And if anyone says to you,
" Why are you doing this?" say, " The Master has need of it,
and He is sure straightway to send it back here." 4 So they
departed and found a colt tethered at a door, outside in the
thoroughfare; and they untie it. 5 And some of the bystanders
there said to them, " What is your object in untying the colt?"
6 And they said to them just what Jesus had told them to say ;
and they let them be. 7 So they bring the colt to Jesus, and
throw over it their outer garments as a saddle; and He seated
Himself on it. 8 And many spread their outer garments as a
carpet upon the road ; and others, layers of leaves, which they
had cut from the fields, q And those who went in front, and
those who followed, raised a continuous cry,
" Give Israel Victory,1 O God.
Blessed is he that cometh as Representative of the LORD ;2
Blessed is the coming Dominion of our ancestor David ;
Give Israel victory, Thou^ that divellest in the highest Height."
ii And He entered into Jerusalem and into the Temple Courts;
and after looking about at everything that was taking place, He
then (since the hour was already late) withdrew with the Twelve
to Bethany.
i23 And on the morrow, after they had started from Bethany,
He felt hungry. 13 And seeing from a distance a fig-tree in
leaf, He went to it on the chance of finding something on it.
But when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it
was not the season for figs. 14 And addressing it, He said,
" May no one eat fruit from you any more for ever!" And His
disciples heard Him. 15 And they come to Jerusalem. And
He, entering into the Temple Courts, began to expel those who
were selling and buying cattle in the Temple Courts; and He
overturned the desks of the exchangers of coins, and the seats
of the pigeon-sellers; 16 and would not let anyone carry any
article through the Temple Courts. 17 And proceeding to teach
them, He said to them, " Is it not written in the Scriptures,
1 My house shall be called a House of Prayer for all nations ' ;4
1 Ps. 117. 2$ft, Sept. ( = 118. 25*, Heb.). 3 Ps. 117. 26*, Sept.
(=118. 26, Heb). * ii. 12-14, 20-24 are not reproduced in
Lk. *Is. 56. 7.
MARK 11. 18—12. 6 221
but you have turned it into a brigands' cave."1 18 And the
Chief Priests and the divines heard of it; so they made repeated
efforts to find means to destroy Him, since they were afraid of
Him, for all the crowd was startled at His teaching. 19 And
when it grew late, He used to retire outside the city. 20 And
early in the morning as they were passing along, they saw the
fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering
Jesus' words, says to Him, " See, Rabbi (" Honoured
Teacher "), the fig tree which you cursed is withered ! " 22 And
Jesus, addressing them, says, " Have faith in God. 23 In truth
I tell you that whoever says to this hill, ' Take yourself away
and fling yourself into the sea,' and has no inward doubts, but
believes that what he says is sure to happen, will get his wish.
24 Therefore I tell you, all things that you pray for and re-
quest, believe that you have as good as received, and you will
get them. 25 And when you stand praying, if you have any
grudge against anyone, forgive him, in order that your Father
also, Who is in the Heavens, may forgive you your trespasses."
27 And they come again to Jerusalem. And whilst He was
walking in the Temple Courts, the Chief Priests and the divines
and the Elders come to Him, 28 and they said to Him, " With
what right are you acting thus? or, if you are the delegate of
another, who gave you this right to act thus?" 29 And Jesus
said to them, " I will put to you but a single question, and
answer me ; and I will then tell you by what right I am acting
thus. 30 The baptism which was administered by John — was
it of Divine origin, or merely human9 Answer me." 31 And
they argued between themselves thus : "If we say, ' Divine,' he
will say * Why, then, did you not believe him?' 32 But are wo
to say ' Merely human '?" They left the question unanswered
because they were afraid of the crowd, for all really held that
John was a prophet. 33 So in answer to Jesus they say, " Wo
do not know." And Jesus says to them, " Neither do I tell
you by what right I am acting thus."
i And Ho began to talk to thorn about tho Dominion of
God with the help of allegories. " A man (He said)
planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a pit for
a wine-vat, and built a tower for a watchman, and let it to
tenants and went abroad. 2 And he sent off to the tenants at
the proper season a servant, in order to receive from them a
proportion of the products of the vineyard. 3 They, however,
taking him, beat him, and sent him back empty-handed. 4
And again he sent off to them another servant, and him they
wounded in the head, and treated with indignity. 5 And he
sent off another, and him they killed; and many others; some
of whom they boat and some they killed. 6 Ho still had one
'Cf. Jer. 7. ii.
222 MARK 12. 7—24
whom he could send, a beloved son : him he sent off to them,
last of all, saying to himself, " They will shew respect for my
son." 7 But those tenants said among themselves, " This is
the heir : come, let us kill him, and in the event of his father's
death, the property will be ours." 8 So they took him
and killed him, and flung him outside the vineyard. 9 What
will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy
the tenants and will let the vineyard to others. 10 Have you
not read even this passage of Scripture? —
" The Stone which the house-builders rejected —
It was this that became the keystone at the angle.
ii It was from the LORD that this result ensued;
And it is wonderful in our eyes."1
12 And they made repeated endeavours to seize Him, but they
feared the crowd, and this rendered them cautious, for they
recognized that it was with reference to themselves that He had
used the allegory. So they let Him be, and departed.
13 And they send unto Him some of the Pharisees and of
Herod's partisans, to catch Him with talk. 14 So they came,
and say to Him, " Teacher, we know that you are straight-
forward, and are indifferent to what anyone thinks, for you shew
no regard to men's external circumstances, but teach straight-
forwardly the Way of Life approved by God. Is it religiously
lawful to pay a poll-tax to the Emperor or not? Are we to pay,
or are we not to pay?" 15 But He, knowing their hypocrisy,
said to them, " Why are you putting me to a test? Bring me
a crown-piece: I want to see it." 16 So they brought one.
And He says to them, " Whose likeness and inscription are
these?" And they said to Him, " The Emperor's." 17 And
Jesus said to them, " What is the Emperor's render to the
Emperor, and what is God's, to God." And they were pro-
foundly astonished at Him.
1 8 And there come unto Him Sadducces — a body of people
who assert that there is no Resurrection. And they put a ques-
tion to Him in these words : 19 " Teacher, Moses laid it down
in writing for us that, if anyone's brother dies, and leaves be-
hind a wife but does not leave a child, his brother is to take his
wife and raise up offspring for his brother.2 20 There were
seven brothers ; and the first took a wife and at his death left
no offspring. 21 And the second took her and died without
leaving behind any offspring; and the third similarly. 22 And
the seven, after taking her in succession, left no offspring.
Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the Resurrection, of
which of them will she be the wife? for the seven had her as
wife." 24 Jesus replied to them, " Are you not led into error
through this — through your ignorance of the Scriptures and of
i Ps . 117. 22, 23, Sept. ( = 118. 22, 23, Heb.). 2 Dt. 25. 5, 6;
summarized
MARK 12. 26—40 223
the power of God? 25 For when souls rise from among the
dead, neither do the men marry, nor are the women given in
marriage (marriage is not needed), but they are like angels in
the Heavens. 26 But as regards the dead, that they are raised
to Life, have you not read in the Book of Moses in the passage
designated * The Thorn Bush,' how God spoke to him in these
terms, * I am the God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and
God of Jacob?1 27 He is not a God of dead men but of Living.
You are gravely in error.1 "
28 And there came up one of the divines who had heard their
discussion; and since he knew that He had given them an
excellent answer, he put a question to Him : " Which command-
ment (he asked) is first in importance of all Divine Laws?" 29
And Jesus answered, " First in importance is this, * Hear, O
Israel; the LORD our God is One Lord; 30 and thou must love
the LORD thy God with thy whole heart and with thy whole soul
and with thy whole mind and with thy whole strength.'2 31
Second is this, * Thou must love thy neighbour as much as thy-
self.'3 There is no other commandment of greater importance
than these." 32* And the divine said to Him, " Excellently
answered, Teacher; with truth have you said that He is One,
and that there exists no other but He ; 33 and to love Him with
one's whole heart and with one's whole understanding and with
one's whole strength ; and to love one's neighbour as much as
oneself is superior to all whole-burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 And Jesus, seeing that he answered sensibly, said to him,
" You are not far from the Dominion of God." And no one
ventured any more to put questions to Him. 35 And Jesus,
addressing those about Him, as He was teaching in the Temple
Courts, said, " In what sense do the divines say that the Christ
is David's descendant? do they mean that He ts merely suc-
cessor to his earthly throne ? 36 David himself, under the in-
fluence of the Holy Spirit, said,
" The LORD said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
Until I place thy enemies underneath thy feet."5
37 David himself terms Him Lord, so on what ground can He
be his descendant merely in the sense of successor to 7z?s earthly
throne?"
And the large crowd that flocked around were glad to listen
to Him. 38 And in the course of His teaching He said, " Be-
ware of the divines, who like to walk about in stately robes and
to receive respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and to
occupy front seats in the synagogues, and places of honour at
banquets, — 40 men who eat widows out of house and home, and
to disguise their evil doing, offer long prayers; these will re-
1 Ex. 3. 6; slightly divergent. 2 Dt. 6. 4, 5. * Lev. 19.
18. 4 12. 32-34* are not reproduced in Mt. and Lk. 5 Ps.
109. i, Sept. (=* no. i, Heb.); slightly divergent, nearer the
Heb.
224 MARK 12. 41—13. 14
ceive a heavier sentence than others. " 41* And having sat down
opposite the Offertory boxes in the Temple Treasury, He was
noticing how the crowd dropped coins into the Offertory boxes ;
whilst many who were rich, were dropping into them large
sums. 42 And one needy widow came and dropped in two half-
pence. 43 And calling to Him His disciples He said to them,
" In truth I tell you that this widow, this needy widow, has
dropped In more than all the rest who are dropping their money
into the Offertory boxes in the Temple Treasury. 44 For all
the rest have dropped in contributions out of their surplus, but
she out of her insufficiency has dropped in all that she had,
the whole of her means of subsistence."
"1 O i Now, as He was leaving the Temple Courts, one of
JLO His disciples says to Him, " Teacher, see! what huge
stones and what huge "structures are here!" 2 And Jesus said
to him, " Are you looking at these massive structures' There
will in no case be left here one stone upon another which will
not assuredly be demolished." 3 And when He was seated on
the Mount of Olives, facing the Temple, Peter, James, John, and
Andrew proceeded to ask Him a question privately : 4 " Tell us
when such events will occur, and what ib the Sij^n indicating
when all these predictions are on the eve of fulfilment?" 5 So
Jesus began to say to them, " Beware lest any delude you. 6
Many will come impersonating me, and asserting, " I am He,"
and will delude many. 7a And when you hear of wars and
rumours of wars, be not dismayed : they are bound to come,
but the End does not follow yet. 8 For nation will be roused
against nation and realm against realm ; there will be earth-
quakes in various places, and there will be famines; still, merel)
the first Birth-pangs, ushering in a New Age, are these. 9 But
look to yourselves. People will deliver you over to ecclesiastical
courts ; and in synagogues you will be beaten ; and you will be
put on trial before governors and kings for my sake, to enable
testimony about me to reach them. 10 And before the end
comes the Good News must first be proclaimed to all nations.
ii And when they lead you away, delivering you up for trial,
do not be worried beforehand as to what you are to say ; but
say whatever is given you at that moment. For it is not you
that speak but the Holy Spirit. 12 And a brother will deliver
up a brother to death, and a father a child ; and children will
rise up in revolt against parents and procure their death ; 13 and
you will be objects of hatred to all for loyalty to my Self-revela-
tion, when you endeavour to make it known. But he that has
held out to the end will be saved. 14® When, however, you see
the Desolating Horror4 standing where he should not be (let the
1 12 41-44 are not reproduced in Mt. 2 13. 7, 8, 12 are prob-
ably part of an Apocalypse. 3 13. 14-20 are probably part
of an Apocalypse. 4 See Dan. n. 31; / Mace. \. 54.
MARK 13. 15—37 225
Reader comprehend what is meant by the.se words), then those
who are in Judaea should fly to the hills; 15 and he who is
upon the house-top should not come down and go indoors to
fetch, anything out of his house; 16 and he who is on his farm,
stripped for work, should not turn back to fetch his outer gar-
ment. 17 And woe awaits the women who are expecting to
have a child, and those who are nursing infants in those days.
Ji8 And pray that it may not be winter when these calamities
take place. 19 For those days will be a time of misery, the like
of which has not been experienced since the beginning of the
Creation, of which God was the Author, until now, and will
never recur. 20 And unless the LORD had purposed to curtail
those days, no human being would survive; but for the sake of
His Chosen, of whom He has made choice, He has curtailed
those days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, " See, here is
the Christ!" "See, there He is!" do not believe it. 22 For
false Christs and false prophets will come on the scene, and
will perform Signs and Wonders to lead astray, if possible, God's
Chosen ; 23 but as for you, beware : I have told you every-
thing beforehand. 24a But in those days, after that time of
misery, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give
its light ; 25 and the stars will be falling from the sky, and
the astral Powers which are in the skies will be in commotion.
26 And then, but not till then, people will see the Son of man
coining in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then
He will send forth His angels and will gather together to Him
His Chosen from the four quarters of the globe, from the furthest
verge of the earth to the furthest verge of the sky. 28 From
the fig-tree learn the illustration which it affords. When its
branch has at last become full of sap, and produced its leaves,
you recognize that summer is near. 29 So you, too, when you
see these events happening, should recognize that the end of
the present Age is near, at your doors. 30 In truth I tell you
that this generation will in no case pass away, before all these
events which I have predicted have happened. 31 Though earth
and sky will pass away, my predictions will not pass away
without fulfilment. 32 But about that day or moment none has
knowledge (not even the angels in Heaven or even the Son)
except the Father. 33 Beware, be alert, for you do not know
when the Hour of Reckoning comes. 34 The position is like
that subsisting when a man is abroad, having left his house, and
given to his servants their authority, to each his task ; and has
commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch, therefore ; for you
do not know when the Master of the house is coming — whether
late in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or early
next morning — 36 lest he come suddenly and find you sleep-
ing. 37 And what I say to you I say to all, Watch."
1 13. 18-20, 22-23 are not reproduced in Lk.
probably part of an Apocalypse.
228 MARK 14. 1—19
•| y| i Now the Passover and the Festival of Cakes made
JL^t without Yeast was due in two days' time. And the Chief
Priests and divines were trying to find means to seize Him, not
openly but craftily, and kill Him; 2 for they said, " Only not
on the Festival, for fear there should occur at any moment a
tumult on the part of the People."
3 And whilst He was at Bethany in the house of Simon,
11 the Leper," and occupied a seat at his table, there came a
woman, having with her a flask of fragrant unguent, genuine
narcl, extremely costly; and breaking the flask, she emptied
the contents upon His head. 4 But there were some present
who proceeded to express their indignation to one another,
" What purpose (they asked) has this waste of the fragrant
unguent served? 5 For this fragrant unguent could have been
sold for above seventv-five pounds and the proceeds given to the
needy"; and they continued to shew their displeasure towards
her. 6 But Jesus said, " Let her be. Why do you vex her? it
is a fine act that she has done to me- 7 For the needy you have
with you at all times, and whenever you wish, you can benefit
them; but me you cannot have at all times. 8 What she was
able to do, she has done; she has unknowingly anticipated the
perfuming of my Body for the burial. 9 In truth I tell you,
Wherever the Good News is proclaimed in the whole world,
what this woman has done will also be told, to preserve the
memory of her." 10 And after this, Judas, the man of Kerioth,
he who was one of the Twelve, went away to the Chief Priests
for the purpose of delivering Him up to them, n And they, on
hearing his offer, were delighted, and promised to pay him
for it. So he was continually seeking means of delivering Him
up opportunely to them.
12 Now on the first day of the Festival of Cakes made with-
out Yeast, when the worshippers regularly sacrificed the Passover
Lambs, His disciples say to Him, " Where do you wish us to
go and get ready, to enable you to eat the Passover?" 13 So He
sends two of His disciples on this errand, and says to them,
" Go off into the city, and there will meet you a man carrying
a pitcher of water. Follow him, 14 and wherever .he enters
a house, tell the householder, " The Teacher says, * Where is
the guest-room that I have engaged, where I am to eat the Pass-
over with my disciples?' 15 And he himself will show you a
large upper room, with a table and couches prepared, and in
readiness for a meal; and there get ready for us." 16 So the
disciples went out, and came to the city, and found everything
just as He had told them they would; and they got ready the
Passover. 17 And when it had grown late, He comes with the
Twelve. 18 And when they were in their seats at the table,
and were partaking of the meal, Jesus said, " In truth I tell
you, one from among you— one that is partaking of the meal
with me— will deliver me up to my enemies/' 19 They began to
MARK 14. 20-40 227
be distressed, and to say to Him, one by one, " Surely it is not
I?" 20 And He said to them, " It is one of the Twelve— he who
helps himself to the same dish as I. 21 He will deliver me up
because the Son of man goes to meet His end, as it is predicted in
the Scriptures concerning Him ; yet woe awaits that man by whom
the Son of man is delivered up. It would have been a good
thing for that man if he had never been born." 22 And in the
course of the meal He, having taken a loaf and having asked a
Blessing, broke it into portions and gave these to them, and
said, ' Take it, this broken bread is my Body." 23 And having
taken a cup, and having said Grace, He gave it to them ; and
they all drank some of it. 24 And He said to them, " This is
my Blood (making binding the * Covenant ' predicted by
Jeremiah1) which is to be shed on behalf of * many.' In truth I
tell you that I shall no more drink of the product of the vino
till that day when I drink it in a new and spiritual sense in the
Dominion of God." 26 And after they had chanted a p^alm,
they went forth to the mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus says to
them, " The loyalty of all of you will be shaken by what is to
befall me, because a prediction is recorded, ' I will smite the
Shepherd, and the Sheep will be scattered in all directions.2 28
But after I have been raised to Life again, I will precede you
into Galilee." 29 But Peter said to Him, "If the loyalty of
even all the rest should be shaken, at least mine will not." 30
And Jesus says to him, " In truth I tell you that you — you, I
repeat — to-day, this very night, before a cock twice crows, wijl
thrice disown me." 31 But he persisted in saying with extreme
vehemence, " Even if I should have to die with you, I will not
disown you." And all the others spoke to the same effect.
32 And they come to a plot of ground, the name of which
was Gethsemane; and He says to His disciples, " Sit down here
while I pray." 33 And He takes with Him as His companions
Peter, James, and John ; and He began to be appalled and dis-
traught at the fate before Him, 34 and He says to them, " My
soul is in deep distress, to the verge of death; stay here and
watch." 35 And having gone forward a little way, He threw
Himself on* the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, tho
impending Hour might pass away from Him : 36 and He said,
4 * Abba (" Father"), all things are possible to Thee; put aside
this cup of woe from me ; yet it matters not what I will, but what
Thou wilt." 37 And He comes and finds them asleep, and He
says to Peter, " Simon, are you sleeping? were you incapable of
watching a single hour? 38 Watch and pray continuously, all^of
you, that you may not incur temptation. Though a man's spirit
is eager, his physical nature is feeble." 39 And He went away
again, and prayed, uttering the same supplication as Before. 40
coming once more, He found them asleep, for their eyes were
1 See Jer. 31. 33, 34. 3 Ze<h. 13. 7b ; divergent
16
228 MARK 14. 41—60
growing very heavy; and they did not know what to say to Him
in answer to His questions. 41 And He comes the third time,
and says to them, " Still sleeping, still resting! Enough; the
destined Hour has come; the Son of man, as you see, is being
delivered up to the violence of the sinful. 42 Rouse yourselves ;
let us go to meet those who are approaching; as you see, he who
delivers me up to my enemies is close by." 43 And straightway,
whilst He was still talking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrives,
and, accompanying him, a crowd, with swords and cudgels, who
had come from the Chief Priests and the divines and the Elders.
44 And he who was delivering Him up to His enemies had given
them a clue, explaining, " Whomsoever I kiss is the man ; seize
Him and lead Him away securely." 45 So as soon as he had
come, he straightway went up to Him and says, " Rabbi," and
kissed Him effusively. 46 So the rest laid violent hands upon
Him and seized Him. 47 Rut one of the bystanders, having
drawn his sword, smote the High Priest's servant, and cut off
his ear. 48 And Jesus, addressing them, said, " Was it as
against a brigand that you sallied out with swords and cudgels
to apprehend me? 49 Daily I was close to you in the Temple
Courts, teaching; and you did not seize me. But this has hap-
pened that the prediction recorded in the Scriptures may be ful-
filled." 50 And all the disciples, abandoning Him, took to flight.
5I1 And there was following along with Him a certain young
man who, having risen hastily from sleep, had thrown a linen
wrap over his naked body ; and some of the crowd try to seize
him ; 52 but he, leaving behind in their hands the linen wrap
made his escape naked.
/3 So they led away Jesus to the house of the High Priest :
all the Chief Priests and the Elders and the divines meet
there. 54 And Peter, who had recovered from his panic, had
followed Him at a distance, as far as the interior of the High
Priest's courtyard ; and he was there seated in company with the
constables, warming himself near the blaze of a fire. 55 Now
the Chief Priests and the whole Council endeavoured to get evi-
dence against Jesus with a view to procuring His death ; but
they repeatedly failed to find any that sufficed; 56 for though
many persons gave false evidence against Him, yet their evidence
was not consistent. 57* And certain persons, getting up, gave
false evidence against Him, alleging, 58 " We heard Him say,
1 I — yes, I — will demolish this Sanctuary made by human agency,
and after two days' interval I will build Another made without
human agency.' " 59 But even so, their evidence was not con-
sistent. 60 And the High Priest, getting up in the middle of
them, questioned Jesus, saying, " Have you no answer to give?
What is the meaning of the evidence which these men adduce
1 14. qi, 52 are not reproduced in Mi. and Lk. 2 14. 57-61* are
not reproduced in Lk. ; ver. 59 is not reproduced in Mt.
MARK 14. 61—15. 9 229
against you?" 61 But He kept silence and returned no reply.
Again the High Priest questioned Him and says to Him, " You!
—are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" 62 And Jesus
said, " I am, and you all will see the Son of man seated at the
right hand of the Divine Power and conning with the clouds of
the sky." 63 And the High Priest, tearing his garments to mark
his horror, exclaims, " Why have we any longer need of wit-
nesses? 64 You heard the blasphemy; what is your view?"
And they all pronounced Him guilty, and liable to the penalty
of death. 65 And some of those in charge of Jesus began to spi't
upon Him, and to muffle His face, and to belabour Him with
their fists, and to say to Him: " Show yourself a prophet!"
And the constables caught Him blows with their open hands.
66 Now whilst Peter was below, in the courtyard, one of the
High Priest's maidservants comes, 67 and when she saw Peter
warming himself, she looked at him and says : " You also, as
well as those who escaped, were with the Nazarene, Jesus." 68
But he disowned Him, saying, " I neither know Him, nor under-
stand what you mean." And he went outside into the fore-
court. 69 And the maidservant, seeing him there, began again
to say to the bystanders, " This fellow is one of their number."
70 But he again persisted in disowning Him. And again a little
while afterwards the bystanders said to Peter, " Certainly you
are one of their number, for you are actually a Galilaean by your
accent. JJ 71 But he began to invoke curses upon himself, if it were
so, and to swear, '* I do not know this man of \\hom you speak."
72 And straightway a cock crew a second time. And Peter re-
called the expression used by Jesus — how He said to him, " Be-
fore a cock twice crows, you will thrice disown me." And letting
his thoughts dwell on this, he burst into weeping.
•I Kf i And straightway early in the morning the Chief Priests,
J_lJ with the Elders and the divines, constituting the whole
Council, held a consultation, and having bound Jesus, they car-
ried Him away and delivered Him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate
questioned Him, " Are you— you ! — the King of the Jews?" And
He, in answer to him, says : " It is you who say so." 3 And
the Chief Priests proceeded to bring numerous accusations
against Him. 4 Pilate again proceeded to question Him, " Have
you," he said, " no answer to give? see what numerous accusa-
tions they bring against you." 5 But Jesus gave him no further
reply, so that Pilate was surprised. 6 Now at each Festival he
used to discharge, to gratify them, a single prisoner whom they
begged off. 7 And there was at the time the so-termed Barabbas
(" Son of Abba "), confined with those rioters who in the recent
riot had committed murder. 8 And the crowd went up to the
Governor's Judgment Seat, and began to request him to follow
his usual practice. 9 And Pilate replied by saying, " Do you
wish me to discharge, to gratify you, the King of the Jews?"
230 MARK 15. 11—35
(for he was aware that it was from jealousy that the Chief
Priests had delivered Him over to him). n But the Chief
Priests incited the crowd to get him to discharge, for their grati-
fication, the Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate, addressing them
again, said, " What, then, do you wish me to do with rfim Whom
you term * the King of the Jews '?" 13 And they shouted out
again, " Crucify Him." And Pilate said to them, " Why, what
has He done wrong?" But they shouted furiously, " Crucify
Him." 15 And Pilate, wishing to content the crowd, discharged,
to please them, the Barabbas ; and he delivered up Jesus, after he
had scourged Him, to be crucified.
16 And the soldiers led Him away inside the Court-yard (that
is, within the Government House), and they call together the
whole battalion. 17 And they dress Him in " purple," and they
put around His head a circlet of thorn, which they had twined;
18 and they began to salute Him with, " Long live the King of
the Jews!" 19 and they repeatedly hit His head with a cane,
and spat upon Him ; and kneeling on their knees, they pretended
to do homage to Him. 20 And when they had had their sport
with Him, they stripped Him of the " purple," and dressed Him
in His own garments. And they lead Him out to crucify Him.
21 And they impress into their service a passer-by, Simon, a
Cyrenaean Jew, as he was coming into the city from the country
(the father of Alexander and Rufus), to take up and carry His
cross. 22 And they bring Him to the Golgotha-place (which,
translated, means, Skull-place). 23 And they offered Him wine
drugged with myrrh, but He would not take it. 24 And they
crucify Him, and divide between them His garments, casting
lots upon them to decide what each was to carry away with him.
25 Now it was about the middle of the morning when they
crucified Him. 26 And over Him there was the notification of
the charge against Him, inscribed, " The King of the Jews."
27 And together with Him they crucify two brigands, one on the
right side, and one on the other side, of Him. 29 And those
who passed by from time to time scoffed at Him, shaking their
heads mockingly and saying, " Ah! you who are to demolish the
Temple and to build it in two days, 30 save yourself by coming
down from the cross!" 31 Likewise the Chief Priests also,
deriding Him to one another, in company with the divines, said
again and again, " Others He saved; Himself He cannot save:
32 let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the
cross, that we may see and believe ! " And they who were cruci-
fied together with Him repeatedly taunted Him. 33 And when
midday had been reached, darkness spread over the whole land
until the middle of the afternoon. 34 And in the middle of the
afternoon Jesus called out loudly, " Eloi, Eloi, lama sabach-
thani " (which, translated, means, " My God, my God, wherefore
hast Thou forsaken me?"). *35 And some of the bystanders,
1 Ps. 21. 2, Sept. ( = 22. 2, Heb.); slightly divergent.
MARK 15. 36—16. 7 281
hearing this, said, "See, He summons Elijah!" 36 And one
of them ran and soaked a sponge in sour wine — the liquor of
the soldiers — and fastening it round a cane, tried to give Him
drink, saying to the rest who wanted to interfere with him, " Let
me be; let us see whether Elijah really comes to take Him
down." 37 But Jesus, having uttered a loud cry, expired. 38
And the inner Curtain of the Sanctuary1 was rent into two
parts from top to bottom. 39 And the Company Commander,
who was standing by, opposite to Him, on seeing that He expired
in this manner, exclaimed, " Certainly this man was of Divine
descent!" 40 And there were also some women looking on from
a distance, amongst whom were both the Marys — Mary the
Magdalene, and Mary, mother of James the Little and of Joseph,
— and Salome (41 who all, when He was in Galilee, used to
be His followers and to minister to His needs), and many other
women, who had come up with Him to Jerusalem.
42 By this time it had grown late ; so, since it was Prepara-
tion-Friday (that is, the day before the Sabbath), 4^ there came
Joseph of Ramathaim, a Councillor of honourable position, who
himself was awaiting, like some others, the advent of the
Dominion of God; and he, taking courage, went in to Pilate and
requested the Body of Jesus. 443 Pilate was surprised that He
was already dead ; but having summoned the Company Com-
mander, he asked him whether death had already occurred; 45
and when he had ascertained the fact from the Company Com-
mander, he granted the Corpse to Joseph. 46 So the latter, after
buying a linen wrap, and taking Him down from the cross,
swathed Him in the linen wrap, and laid Him in a sepulchre
which had been hewn out of a rock ; and rolled a boulder against
the entrance of the tomb. 47 And Mary the Magdalene and
Mary the mother of Joseph noticed where he was laid.
"1 £3 i And when the Sabbath was past, Mary the Magdalene,
-L U and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices
in order to go and anoint Him. 2 And very early on the first
day of the week they go to the tomb, after the sun had risen. 3
And they were saying to themselves, " Who will roll away for
us the boulder from the entrance to the tomb?" (4b for it was
extremely large), 4* when, on looking up, they observe that
the boulder had been rolled back. 5 And when they entered into
the tomb, they saw a young man seated on the right side of it,
clad in a white robe ; and they were dumbfounded. But he says
to them, " Do not be dumbfounded. You are looking for Jesus
the Nazarene, Who has been crucified : He has been raised to
Life : He is not here. See, this is the place where they laid
Him. 7 But go, say to His disciples, and especially to Peter,
1 He precedes you into Galilee (there you will see Him) just as
See Ex. 26 31-33 2 15. 44 is not reproduced in Mt. or Lk.
232 MARK 16. 8 : SUPPLEMENT
He told you.' " 8 And they, going out, fled from the^tomb, for
trembling and amazement possessed them ; but they said nothing
to anyone, for they were afraid. . . .
SUPPLEMENTARY ENDINGS
9 Now after He had risen, early on the first day of the week
He appeared first to Mary the Magdalene (from whom He had
expelled seven demons). 10 She went and reported the occur-
rence to those who had been with Him, as they mourned and
wept; ii but they, on being told that He was alive and had
been seen by her, were incredulous. 12 After this He manifested
Himself in a different form to two of them as they were walking
on their way into the country; 13 and they returned and re-
ported it to the rest ; but they did not believe them either. 14
Later He manifested Himself to the Eleven themselves, as they
were seated at table; and reproached them for their lack of faith
and their stubborn incredulity, because they had not believed
those who had beheld Him after He had been raised to Life from
the dead. *And they defended themselves by saying, " This Age
of iniquity and lack of faith is under the control of Satan, who,
through the agency of the *foul* spirits does not allow it to
apprehend the real power of God. Wherefore disclose at last the
vindication of Thyself." Thut> they spoke to the Christ, and
the Christ said to them, " The limit of the years for the duration
of Satan's authority has been reached, but other horrors are
drawing near And on behalf of those who had sinned I was
delivered up unto death, in order that they might return to the
Truth and sin no more, and in order that they might inherit the
spiritual and imperishable Glory of Righteousness which is in
Heaven." 15 And He said to them, " Go your way into all the
world and proclaim the Good News to the whole Creation. 16
He who has believed and has been baptized will be saved, and
he who has disbelieved will be condemned. 17 And these ex-
periences will attend as Signs those who have believed. By the
use of my Name they will expel demons ;2 they will speak
rapturously in strange languages ;3 they will take up serpents
with impunity * and if they drink any deadly draught, it will not
harm them ; they will place their hands upon invalids, and they
will be restored to health.'" 19 So the Lord Jesus, after He
had talked to them, was taken up into Heaven, and sat down
on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth and made
proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them and con-
firming the Message by the attendant Signs accrediting it.
1 For thib insertion see p 198. 2 Cf. Acts 16. 17, 18; 19. 12.
3 Cf Acts 2 4; 7 Cor. 12. 10; 14. 2 foil. 4 Cf. Acts 28
3-5. * Cf. Acts 3. i-io; 5. 12 f ; 14. 3; 28. 8.
MARK, SUPPLEMENT 233
B
And the women repeated briefly to Peter and his companions
all the directions with which they had been charged. And after
this, Jesus Himself, too, sent forth from the east even as far as
the west through their agency the sacred and imperishable pro-
clamation of Eternal Salvation.
THE EPISTLE OF
ST. JUDE
The writer of the Epistle of Jude (or Judas] styles himself the
brother of " James "; and as the latter name (which is a corruption
of Jacobus] was common (it was borne by two members of the Apostolic
band), the designation is vague. Probably, however, the James
meant is the " brother " of Jesus (Mk. 6. 3), "who was a conspicuous
figure in the early Church (Acts 15. 13; 21 18; Gal. i. 19) If the
Letter is the genuine work of the Jude who thus describes himself,
it can scarcely be later than 70 AD., if as late. It was in circulation
early in the second century, since the substance of it was utilized by
the author of // Pet. (see p. 536) ; and it is reckoned among the
Catholic Kpistles in the Muratonan Catalogue (170-180 A.D.). But
some doubt attaches to its authenticity on both external and internal
grounds.
(a) By Origen (d. 253) hesitation was felt about its authority;
and by Eusebius (d 340) it is stated that in his time it was regarded
by some as spurious.
(b) The allusion (v 17) to " the words uttered in advance by the
Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ " (cf. 11 Pet. 3. 2) appears to imply
that the Apostles belonged to an earlier generation than the writer.
(c) The use of the term the Faith for a body of doctrines (vv. 3,
20) is suggestive of a post-Apostolic date (/ Tim. i. 19; 3. 9; 4 i ;
6 10, see p 543).
(d) The anarchical and licentious conduct of certain professed
Christians (vv. 4, 8 f ) resembles that of sympathizers with various
Gnostic heresies of the second century Nevertheless, these argu-
ments admit of some rejoinder.
(a) The reason for the doubts entertained in the Early Church
about its genuineness may have hinged upon the occurrence in it
of a quotation from the Apocryphal book of Enoch (v. 14) and
(according to some Patristic writers) the use made by its author of
another Apocryphal work, The Assumption of Moses (v. 9).
(b) and (c) The inference drawn from the allusion to the Apostles
is precarious, since, St. Paul (if Eph. is by St. Paul) refers to them
in a manner not so very dissimilar; whilst a parallel to the use of
234 JUDE 1—7
the Faith to denote a system of belief occurs in Gal. i 23 ; 6. 10;
Efh. 4. 4; Phil. i. 27.
(d) Examples of the immoral conduct, such as that which this
Epistle is designed to censure, were not unknown to St. Paul (77
Cor. 12. 21), some of whose statements could be warped in an un-
ethical spirit, and distorted into an encouragement of antinomianism
(cf. Rom. 6. i with Jude 4). Other instances were known to the
writer of Rev. (see 2. 14).
On the whole, it is lather more probable that the Epistle is the pro-
duction of the writer from whom it professes to proceed than that it
is the work of an unknown author who composed it in the name of
one who was comparatively undistinguished. The Jewish atmosphere
pervading the Letter is what might be expected of St. Jude. On
the other hand, a recent critic has conjectured that the writer was
the Jude who was the third bishop of Jerusalem early in the reign
of Trajan (98-117 A.D ) ; that the opening words of the Epistle were
originally no more than Judas of James, a bond-servant of Jesus
Christ; that the word brother was inserted in order to identify him
with the Lord's kinsman; and that, in consequence, a slight tran-
position in the wording was finally made from reverential motives.
This theory is more ingenious than convincing. The destination of
the Epistle is quite unknown.
i Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James,
to those who have been Called, and are beloved *by God the
Father, and are safeguarded through union with* Jesus Christ :
2 May Mercy and Peace and Love be yours increasingly.
3 Beloved, whilst I was making every endeavour to write to
you about our common Salvation, I felt constrained to appeal
to you by letter to be strenuous in defence of the Faith once for
all delivered to God's Hallowed People. 4 For certain persons
have crept in furtively, who long ago have been entered before-
hand in God's Book of Destiny for the doom which they have
incurred — impious men, converting the graciousness of our God
into license for debauchery, and disowning our sole Sovereign
and Lord, Jesus Christ.1 5 I wish merely to remind you (for, no
doubt, you have become acquainted once for all with everything
that I can tell you) that the LORD, after having delivered a People
out of the land of Egypt, in the second place destroyed those who
refused to repose faith in Him; 6 and the Angels, who did not
keep their own realm, but left their proper habitation, He has
reserved in everlasting chains, beneath a pall of gloom, for the
judgment of the Great Day,2 7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah
and the cities around them, because they, in the same manner
as these men, committed immorality to the utmost extent, and
pursued after unnatural intercourse, are displayed as a warning
fo mankind, sustaining, as they do, the penalty of eternal fire.
1 Cf. 77 Pet. 21. 3 Cf. 77 Pet. 2. 4.
JUDE 8—23 236
8 Notwithstanding such warnings, these men, too, duped by
delusive dreams, likewise pollute their bodies, flout Spirits in-
vested with Lordship, and defame Glorious Beings.1 9 Yet
Michael the Archangel, when, in his controversy with the Devil,
he disputed about the dead body of Moses, did not dare to bring
against him an accusation in defamatory terms, but merely said,
" The LORD rebuke thee." 10 But these men defame everything
of which they are ignorant ; while everything which they, like
the irrational animals, know merely through the natural in-
stincts, becomes the means of ^their own destruction, u Woe
awaits them, because they have pursued their way along the road
followed by Cain ; and, for what they can earn, have given
themselves up to the deception practised by Balaam ;2 and have
gone to perdition through rebellion like Koran's. 12 These are
they who, as they feast with you without misgiving, are stains
on your love-feasts,3 looking after themselves alone. They are
waterless clouds, driven along by gales ;4 leafless autumn trees,
devoid of fruit, uprooted, and so doubly dead ; 13 wild waves of
the sea, foaming up their own deeds of shame ; wandering stars,
seen for a moment, for whom the darkest gloom is reserved for
ever.5 14 It was with these men, as well as others, in view, that
Enoch, who belonged to the seventh generation from Adam,
prophesied when he declared, " Lo, the LORD has come, with His
myriads of Holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to
convict all the impious of all their deeds of impiety which they
have impiously committed, and of all the hard words which these
men, impious sinners that they are, have uttered against Him."6
16 These men carp at, and find fault with, God's dealings, pursu-
ing their way at the prompting of their own passions; their lips
utter big swelling words,7 though for their own profit they make
much of persons of fortune or position.
17 But you, on your part, Beloved, should remember the
words uttered in advance by the Apostles of our Lord Jesus
Christ— 18 how they said to you : " In the Final period of
this Age there will be scoffers, pursuing their way at the prompt-
ing of their own passions, which are fostered by their impieties."
19 These are they who are exclusive in their social relations,
purely animal in their nature, destitute of spirituality. 20 But
you, Beloved, whilst fortifying your characters with the help of
your most holy Faith, and praying with the aid of Holy Spirit,
21 should keep yourselves within the shelter of God's love, await-
ing the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for the attainment of
Eternal Life". 22 Some men when they dispute with you, you
should * confute* ; 23 others you must try to save, endeavouring
to snatch them, like brands, from the fire; to others shew pity,
1 Cf. 77 Pet. 2. 10. 2 Cf. 77 Pet. 2. 15. 3 Cf. 77 Pet. 2.
13. 4 Cf. 77 Pet 2. 17*. * Cf. 77 Pet. 2. 17*. ° Cf.
Enoch i. 9. r Cf. 77 Pet. 2. 18.
236 JUDE 24, 25
yet with apprehension, hating even the garment which has been
spotted by sensuality.
24 To Him Who is able to secure you from moral lapses,
and to set you, spotless and exultant, before His Glory, 25 to
the Only God, Who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord, be
Glory, Majesty, Sovereignty and Power from before the world's
Age began, during the present time, and for all the Ages yet to
THE EPISTLE OF AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR
TO A COMMUNITY OF
HEBREWS
The authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which has no
epistolary introduction (this being perhaps lost through some acci-
dental damage to the beginning of the roll on which it was written,
just as the conclusion of Mk. has disappeared through injury to the
end of the roll containing it), the locality where it was written,
the region and the community to which it was sent, and the date of
its composition are all uncertain. The author's name does not occur
within the text of the Letter, as preserved in the earliest MSS. The
external evidence for its origin in the Apostolic Age is limited; for
though it was accepted by the Eastern Churches, it was rejected by
the Chun hes of the West ; and whilst it is found in one of the Syriac
Versions of the N.T., it does not occur in the Old Latin Version. It
must, indeed, have circulated in the West at an early date, for
Clement of Rome (circ. 95 or 96 A.D.) refers to it. But though it was
known in Rome before the close of the first century, it is not com-
prised in the Muratonan Catalogue; and Eusebms states that it
was held in doubt until a late date (presumably from a conviction
that it lacked Apostolic authority), though he apparently included
it among the books acknowledged by the Church in his time (p. 44).
In spite of the suspicions entertained about it, several Patristic
writers belonging to Eastern Churches considered it Apostolic, and
to be the work of St. Paul (who in the title is named as its author
by the majority of MSS., though not by the best). Clement of
Alexandria is represented to have said that it was written by St.
Paul in Aramaic and translated into Greek by St. Luke; whilst
Eusebms, who attributed fourteen Epistles to the Apostle, could
only have made up that number by including Heb. and the Pastorals.
But it was not St. Paul's practice to omit his name at the beginning
of a Letter (though here the opening sentence may have been lost),
nor could he have counted himself among those who received assur-
ance of the Message of the Gospel through the followers of the Lord
(2 3, contrast Gal. i 12). Origen (d. 253) recognized that the style
HEB., INT. 237
(which, unlike St. Paul's unrestrained manner, is calm and stately)
was not the Apostle's; but suggested that the matter proceeded from
St. Paul, whilst the phraseology and composition were those of a
pupil of his (though he confessed that who really wrote the Epistle
only God knew). A few parallels to Pauline phrases occurring in it
are indicated in the footnotes to the Translation ; but besides other
differences distinguishing thft work from the Pauline Letters, there
is a marked contrast between the writer's method of citing the O.T.
Scriptures and St. Paul's (cf i. 5, 6, 7, 13; 3. 7; 8. 8, etc., with
Rom. 3. 4, 10 ; 8. 36; 9. 33; ii. 26). Among those with whom the
author has been conjecturally identified are St. Peter and his
amanuensis Silvanus or Silas (/ Pet. 5. 12), for there are a few
similarities between Heb. and / Pet. (cf. j. 6 with / Pet 4. 17 ;
12. 24 with I Pet. i. 2; 13. 20 with / Pet. 5 4). But St. Peter's
authorship is really out of the question in view of 2 3, where the
writer appears to separate himself from the first generation of
Christians, to say nothing of other difficulties occasioned by the
probable date of the work (see below). Against the opinion adopted
by some critics that it is an original composition of St. Luke's is
the nature of the contents, notwithstanding certain linguistic features
common to the Epistle and the Third Gospel; for the Evangelist was
a Gentile, whereas the author of Heb seems to have belonged to the
same race as the people whom he addresses (2. 3; 13 19); and only a
Jew would have been interested in the service of the Tabernacle.
Moreover, there are some striking differences between the vocabulary
of St. Luke and that of the author of Heb., e.g., the absence, in the
Epistle, of St. Luke's favourite adverb immediately and the pre-
position meaning together (or along) with. Others to whom the work
has been ascribed are Barnabas, who was a Priest's Assistant (Acts
4. 36), Philip (one of the Seven, Acts 6. t;), Apollos (Acts 18 24),
Aquila (Acts 18. 2. 18), and even Aquila's wife Priscilla The last
guess is improbable, since the original of n. 32 implies that the
writer was a man, unless the masculine gender is employed pur-
posely to avert suspicion that the author was a woman.
In regard to the destination of the Epistle, certain inferences
are probable. The subject-matter — the transitory character of the
institutions of Judaism and their supersession by the permanent
realities of the Christian Faith — was calculated to be of greater
interest to Jewish Christians, in danger of relapsing to their earlier
religion, than to Christians who had previously been heathens ; and
the traditional title To (the) Hebrews supports this inference. But
the Jews addressed are not likely to have been residents at Jerusalem ;
for such would be more familiar with Aramaic than with Greek,
and had received pecuniary relief from, and not sent such relief to,
fellow- Christians (see 6. 10, contrast Rom 15. 25-27). And since
the Letter conveys the kind remembrances of a group of immigrants
from Italy (13. 24), it would seem to have been despatched to a
Jewish-Christian community resident in Italy, to whom some com-
patriots, living where the Letter was written, desired to be remem-
238 HEB. 1 1—5
bered, this conclusion being confirmed by the knowledge which
Clement of Rome had of the Letter. But if this view about the
destination of the Letter is correct, the place whence the Author
despatched it is quite obscure.
The date of its composition is difficult to determine even
approximately, since there are considerations that point in different
directions. The absence of any reference to the Fall of Jerusalem in
70 A.D. suggests a date prior to that year; for if the destruction of
the Temple and the termination thereby put to the rites practised in
it had actually taken place, some reference to such an event would
have added weight to the writer's contention that the Jewish system
of worship was only temporary. If there were no countervailing
argument, the origin of the work might then be assigned to 65-70 ; an
earlier date is unlikely, since (as has been already noticed) the
teachers of those who are addressed were dead (2 3; 13. 7). On
the other hand, the fact that the writer thinks only of the Taber-
nacle, and describes it, and the ritual conducted in it, from what
he had read abont it in the O.T., and retained in a not too accurate
memory (since he represents the Altar of Incense as being in the Holy
of Holies (9 4) instead of in the Holy Place) favours the conclusion
that the Temple had perished many years before. If, on the whole,
this consideration seems the weightier, then, since the references to
the sufferings experienced by those to whom the Letter is sent (10
32; 12. 4) appear inappropriate to persons who had been exposed to
such horrible persecutions as those which occurred under either Nero
(54-68) or Domitian (81-96), the date of the book may be conjecturally
placed considerably later than the death of the first mentioned
emperor but prior to the accession of the last named. Perhaps one
of the years between 75 and 80 saw its production.
1i It was in many fragmentary portions and by many varied
methods that God long ago conveyed His communications
to our ancestors through the Prophets ; 2 but at the end of
the present period of history He has communicated with us
through One Who is a Son — a Son Whom He has constituted
heir of all things; for through Him He also made the world,
with its successive Ages. 3 He, being the Radiance of God's
Glory and the Imprint of His Reality (reproducing It as truly
as the seal reproduces the signet) and sustaining the Universe
by the expression of His mighty Will, after having secured for us
purification from our sins, took His seat at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, being thereby shewn to be as much superior
to the Angels as the Title which He has inherited is more exalted
than theirs. 5 For to which of the Angels did God at any time
say,
" My Son art Thou : I this day have become Thy Father "P1
or again,
1 Ps. 2. 7.
HEB. 1. 6—2. 6 238
" I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son."1
6 And again, when He brings the First-born into the world of
men, He declares,
" And all God's angels must worship Him/'2
7 And whereas with reference to the Angels the Scripture says
(speaking of Iheir mutability),
" Who turneth His Angels into winds,
And His Ministrants into lightning-flame,"3
8 with reference to the Son, Who is unchanging, it declares,
" Thy throne is God's throne, lasting for ever,
And an equitable rule is Thy rule of Thy Dominion :
9 Thou hast loved justice and hated lawlessness;
Wherefore God, even thy God, hath welcomed Thee
With tokens of joy beyond the Angels Thy associates."4
10 And,
" Thou, O Lord, in the Beginning didst found the earth,
And the sky is the work of Thy hands :
1 1 They will perish, but Thou continuest ;
And all will grow time-worn, like a garment ;
12 And like a mantle Thou wilt fold them up [as a garment],
and they will change;
But Thou continuest the same, and Thy years will never
fail."5
13 And to which of the Angels has God ever said,
"Be thou seated at My right hand,
Till I make Thy enemies a footstool for Thy feet?"6
14 Are not all the angels merely ministering Spirits despatched
on errands of service for the sake of the heirs of Salvation ?
21 In view of this we ought to pay closer heed to what we
have been told, lest we should at any time drift away from
the right course. 2 For if the Divine Message (i.e. the Law),
though communicated through mnustrants no higher in rank
than angels, was enforced, and every act of transgression, or of
insubordination, received just requital, 3 how shall we, of all
people, escape punishment, if we have proved indifferent to a
Salvation as great as this now offered to us? The announce-
ment of it was originally imparted through our Lord, and re-
assurance about that announcement was conveyed to us by those
who heard Him, 4 God corroborating them by Signs and Won-
ders and various acts of Power and gifts of Holy Spirit, appor-
tioned to them according to His will. 5 For it was not to
Angels that He subjected the future world of which we ourselves
are speaking. 6 Some writer, as we know, has exclaimed
impressively,
1 II Sam. 7. 14. 2 Ps. 96. 7, Sept. ( = 97. 7, Heb ). 3 Ps.
103. 4, Sept. (=104. 4, Heb.). 4 Ps 44 7, 8, Sept. ( = 45.
7, 8, Heb.). 5 Ps. 101. 26-28, Sept. ( = 102. 25-27, Heb.).
* Ps. 109. i, Sept ( = 110. i, Heb.).
240 HEB 2. 7—3. 1
" What is man, that Thou art mindful of him,
Or a son of man, that Thou hast regard for him?
7 Thou hast made him for a little while inferior to angels ;
Yet with glory and honour hast Thou crowned him ;
Thou hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands,
8 Thou hast reduced all things to subjection under his feet ni —
for by reducing " all things to subjection under " him, God has
left nothing — not even the angels — exempt from subjection to
his control. 9 But as conditions are at present, we do not yet
see all things reduced to subjection under him ; though we do be-
hold Him Who was for a little while made inferior to Angels — even
Jesus — already crowned with glory and honour on account of His
suffering of death. This He underwent, in order that He, through
God's graciousness to mankind, might taste death's bitterness on
behalf of everyone. 10 For it was appropriate that God, for
Whose ends and through Whose power the Universe exists,
should, in bringing many sons to Glory, render Him, Who is
their Captain and Leader on the way to Salvation, perfect
through suffering, n For both He Who hallows and those who
are hallowed by Him derive their existence from One Source ;
and it is for this reason that the Former is not ashamed to call
the latter " Brothers," 12 declaring
" I will announce Thy Name to my Brothers;
In the midst of the Church I will praise Thee ";2
13 and again,
" I myself, like others, will put my trust in Him " ;s
and again,
" Lo, I and the children that God hath given me.m
14 Since, then, " the children " share human nature in common,
He also, in like manner, participated in the same, in order that
through His death, which His possession of the same physical
nature rendered possible, He might reduce to impotence him who
has in Death the instrument of his sway, that is, the Devil; 15
and might deliver from a sense of enslavement all who, through
their whole lifetime, were subject to the fear of death. 16 For it
is not, as we know, to angels that Jesus gives succour, but to
the posterity of Abraham. 17 Hence He was bound to resemble
His Brethren in all respects, in order that He might prove a
merciful and faithful High Priest in their relations with God,
for the purpose of effecting propitiation for the sins of the
People. I have said " in all respects/' for it is what He suffered
in the course of His own temptations that enables Him to aid
those who are being tempted.
3
i Consequently, Hallowed Brothers, participators in a Call
from Heaven, fix your thoughts on Him Whom, in our con-
'
1 Ps. 8. 5-7, Sept. ( = 4-6, Heb.). * Ps. 21 2^, Sept ( = 22. 22,
Hebf). 3 7s. 8. 17. 4 7s. 8. 18.
HEB. 3. 2—4. 1 241
fession of Faith, we affirm to be God's Emissary and High
Priest, even Jesus, 2 Who is faithful to Him that appointed
Him, as Moses also was in God's Household. 3 Jesus, indeed,
has been counted worthy of greater honour than Moses, in pro-
portion as he who has organized a household enjoys more honour
than the household. (4 Every household is organized by some
one, though He Who originally organized the Universe is God).
5 And whereas Moses was faithful in the administration of the
whole of God's Household as a Subordinate merely, being in-
cluded among its members for the purpose of bearing testimony
to the Truths that were afterwards to be communicated, 6
Christ has authority over God's Household as a Son ; and to
His Household we ourselves belong, if only we retain the bold-
ness of speech and the outspoken pride which are prompted by
our hope. 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit declares,
" To-day if ye will hear God 's Voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, a<5 when yc exasperated me
On the Day of your trying my patience in the Wilderness,
0 Where your forefathers tested me by putting me to the proof ;
And witnessed my marvellous deeds during so many years :
10 Wherefore I was deeply displeased with that generation,
And said, * They always go astray in their hearts,
And have not learnt to know my ways,'
IT As I shewed when I swore in my Wrath,
1 They shall never enter into my Rest — ' 'J1
12 Consequently, I repeat, beware lest at any time there be in
any of you a heart which unbelief renders wicked, as evinced
by revolt from the Living God. 13 On the contrary, exhort one
another every day, as long as there lasts the interval which is
called " To-day," that none of you may grow hardened through
the delusiveness of sin (14 for though we have become partners
with the Christ, we only remain so, provided we retain unshaken
to the end the confidence which we had at first). 15 This warn-
ing is still being uttered,
" To-day, if ye will hear His Voice,
Harden not your hearts, as when ye exasperated me."
16 For who were they who, after hearing God speak, exasperated
Him? Why, was it not all those who came out of Egypt under
the leadership of Moses? 17 And with whom was He deeply dis-
pleased during so many years? Was it not with those who sinned,
and who fell dead in the Wilderness? 18 And to whom did He
swear that they should not enter into His Rest, but to those who
had been disobedient? ig So we see that it was through mis-
trust that they were precluded from entering.
41 Therefore, although a promise of entering His Rest still
holds good for us, we must be apprehensive lest any from
1 Ps. 94. 8-1 1, Sept. ( = 95. 7b-n, Heb.) ; slightly divergent, especi-
ally in the punctuation.
242 HEB. 4. 2—16
among you should at any time be deemed to have failed to satisfy
the conditions governing entrance into it, as those failed to whom
the Promise was first made. 2 For we have had the Good News
communicated to us, even as they had (though the Message
which they heard was of no service to them because it was not
inwardly assimilated through faith by the hearers); 3 and into
that promised Rest we who have reposed faith in God are in the
course of entering. For there is a Rest, just as He has implied
in the words,
" When I swore in my Wrath,
' They shall never enter into my Rest.' "
They, indeed, to whom allusion is made did not enter, although
God's works were finished after the foundation of the world, and
He rested from them. 4 For, as you know, concerning the
Seventh Day the Divine Spirit has spoken thus, " And God
rested on the Seventh Day from all His works " ; 5 And again
in the passage just quoted, a Rest is mentioned, " They shall
never enter into my Rest." 6 Since, then, there is still in reserve
an opportunity for some to enter into it, and since those to
whom the Good News was formerly communicated were pre-
cluded from entering on account of their disobedience, 7 He
again, after ever so long an interval, makes definite reference,
in the Book of Psalms, to a certain Day, saying (in words that
have been quoted before),
" To-day, if ye will hear His Voice,
Harden not your hearts."
It is not the Rest in Canaan which is here in view. 8 For if
Joshua, who led the People into Canaan, had given to them
Rest, in the sense intended, God would not afterwards have
spoken of another and later Day. 9 There is still in reserve,
then, a Sabbath Rest for the People of God; 10 for he that
has entered into God's Rest, himself rests altogether from his
works, as God rests from His own works, u We should be
eager, therefore, to enter that perfect Rest, lest any should fall
through such disobedience as is illustrated by the example just
given. 12 For the Divine Reason is living and active, and
keener than any two-edged blade, its penetrative power extending
even to the opening-up and disclosing of the innermost and
most closely-united parts of man's being — soul and spirit,
joints and marrow — and is able to probe the thoughts and re-
solves of the mind. 13 And no created thing in the presence of
God is beyond His scrutiny : all things are bare and exposed
to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to reckon.
14 Having, then, a great High Priest, who has passed through
the Heavens into the Divine Presence — Jesus, the Son of God —
let us hold fast our Confession of faith about Him. 15 For the
High Priest, whom we have to officiate for us, is not one that
is incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but One that
has been tempted exactlv like ourselves, yet without sinning. 16
HEB. 5. 1—0. 1 243
Let us, therefore, approach with confidence the Throne where
Divine Graciousness is seated, in order to receive mercy and
find Favour manifested in timely aid.
51 For overy High Priest, when taken from among men, is
appointed to act on behalf of his fellow-men in their rela-
tions with God, in order that he may present both bloodless
offerings and animal sacrifices for sins. 2 He can be gently
disposed towards the ignorant and erring, since he, too, is beset
with weaknesses, 3 obliging him to present sin-offerings on
behalf of himself, just as he does on behalf of the People. 4 And
no one presumes to take for himself this honourable office ; he
receives it only when called to it by God, even as Aaron was.
5 In the same way Christ also did not claim for Himself the
dignity of being made High Priest, but He was raised to that
dignity by Him Who said unto Him,
" My Son art Thou; I this day have become Thy Father ";l
6 just as He says likewise in a second passage,
" Thou art for ever a priest of Melchizedek's rank."2
That He was devoid of all presumption He showed by His earthly
experiences- 7 For during His human life He, with loud out-
cry and tears, offered up supplications and entreaties to Him
Who was able to bring Him safe out of death, and was heard
because of His conscientiousness in submitting to death, being
raised, in consequence, to new Life. 8 It was through what He
suffered that He learnt, Son though He was, the required sub-
missiveness ;s 9 and having been thus made perfect for the
duties of His Priesthood, He became, for all those who submit
to His behests, the Source of Eternal Salvation, 10 being
designated by God a High Priest of " Melchizedek's rank."
ii Concerning Him our discourse will be long and hard to
make intelligible to you, since you have become slow of appre-
hension. 12 For whereas by now, in view of the time that has
elapsed, you ought to be teachers of others, you again require
someone to teach you the very alphabet of the rudiments of God's
Oracles; and have come once more to need milk, not solid
fare. 13 For everyone who partakes of what I have called milk
is unacquainted with the subject of Moral Principles, for he is
a jnere infant; 14 whereas "solid fare" is for mature char-
acters— persons who, thanks to habitual practice, have their
moral faculties trained to discriminate between what is right
and what is wrong.
61 But I will assume that you are not content to remain in-
fants. Consequently, leaving alone the subject of the rudi-
ments of knowledge about the Christ, let us move on to the
1 Ps. 2. 7. *Ps. ioq 4, Sept. ( = 110. 4, Heb.). 3 Cf.
Rom q. it), Phil. 2 8
244 HEB. G. 2—20
advanced stages of such knowledge, instead of laying again, as
a foundation for further training, the need of repenting over,
and forsaking, works lacking Spiritual Life; of Faith in God; 2
of instruction about Baptisms, Christian and other, and the
Imposition of Hands; about the Resurrection of the dead; and
about Eternal Doom. 3 And this we will do, if God permits us.
4 To revert to the rudiments would be useless. For in the case
of those who have once for all been enlightened, and have tasted
the delight imparted by the Heavenly Bounty, and have been
made participators in Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the sweet-
ness of some good Word of God, and experienced the Influences
of the Coming Age, 6 and then fallen away, it is impossible to
bring them anew to repentance, since they crucify again, to their
own perdition, the Son of God, and expose Him to open scorn.
7 For whilst ground which has absorbed the rain that repeatedly
falls upon it, and bears vegetation serviceable to those for whose
sake it is actually tilled, shares a blessing from God; 8 yet, if
it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected as worthless, verg-
ing on the state of a land accursed ; and its end is to be burnt.
9 But though we speak thus gravely, we are convinced that
with you, Beloved, conditions are better than this — conditions
conducing to your Salvation ; 10 for God is not so unjust as to
forget what you have done, and the love \vhich you have evinced
for His Self-revelation in Christ — love manifested by your earlier,
and your present, despatch of relief to His Hallowed People, u
And we desire each of you to shew until the end the same eager-
ness for the consummation of your Hope, 12 in order that, in-
stead of hanging back, you may be imitators of those who,
through their faith and patience, are entering into possession of
what God has promised. 13 For when to Abraham God gave a
promise He swore by Himself (since He could swear by none
greater), 14 declaring " Assuredly I will bless thee, and will
multiply thy posterity;"1 15 and Abraham, in reliance upon this
pledge, obtained, through his patience, what was promised. 16
For men swear by One greater than themselves ; and an oath ends
for them every dispute, serving to guarantee the truth of what
has been asserted. 17 And this being so, God, wishing to
demonstrate most convincingly to the destined possessors of what
He had promised the unalterable character of His purpose, gave
further security by means of an oath, 18 in order that, through
two unalterable acts — His promise and His oath — in respect of
which it was impossible for God to prove false, we, seeking
refuge from evil, might find strong encouragement for grasping
the Hope set before us. 19 By that Hope we hold fast, as by the
Soul's shee#-anchor, secure and dependable, dropped into the
depths of the Unseen Spiritual World which is behind the Cur
tain, 20 where Jesus has entered as Fore-runner on our behalf,
having become for ever a High Priest of Melchizedek's rank.
1 Gen. 22. 16, 17; abbreviated.
HEI3 7. 1—17 245
i For this Melchizedek, Kinjg of Salem, Priest of God Most
High, who met Abraham when the latter was returning
from smiting the kings, and bestowed his blessing upon him, 2
and to whom Abraham, on his part, apportioned a tenth of all
his spoils, was, in the first place, " King of Righteousness," for
this is the translation of his name. And secondly, he was also
King of Salem, that is, " King of Peace." 3 And having (in
the Scriptural narrative in which he figures) no father or mother
designated by name, no recorded genealogy, no specified begin-
ning of existence or known termination of life — in this resem-
bling the Son of God — he remains a Priest in perpetuity. 4 Now
observe how great was the dignity of this man, to whom the
Patriarch Abraham gave from his spoils a tenth part.1 5 And
whereas those from among the descendants of Levi who receive
the priesthood,2 are commanded to exact tenths (according to the
Law) from the People, that is, from their Brethren (though these,
like themselves, are sprung from Abraham), 6 he, though his
descent is not traced from such sons of Levi, yet had tenths
paid to him by Abraham ; and bestowed his blessing upon the man
to whom God's Promise had been given (7 and unquestionably
it is the inferior who is blessed by the superior). 8 And whereas
in the one case it is mere mortal men who receive tenths, in the
other case it is one about whom, in the record, there is no evi-
dence that he is dead. 10 And Levi, too, who, in the persons
of his descendants (the existing priestly order) receives tenths,
paid tenths, so to speak, through Abraham, for he was not yet
begotten when his ancestor Abraham was met by Melchizedek.
n If, then, the spiritual perfecting of men had been possible
through the functions of the Levitical priesthood (for the priest-
hood was the basis on which a Legal system for the Jewish
People was constituted), what further need was there for a
different kind of priest to be forthcoming. One invested with
Melchizedek's rank, and described as having a different rank
from Aaron's? 12 There must really have been an urgent need,
for a change in the Priesthood involves necessarily a change in
the Legal system with which it is* associated. 13 And such a
change \n the Priesthood has been actually effected, for He
about Whom the previous statements are made belonged to a
different tribe, no member of \\hich has ever attended as priest
at the altar 14 (for it is perfectly clear that our Lord sprang
from Judah, a tribe with which Moses, in what he said, never
connected Priests). 15 And the inadequacy of the Levitical
Priesthood appears still more manifest, if it is a different type of
Priest, one analogous to Melchizedek, that is forthcoming—
16 One who has been made a Priest not on the basis of a system
demanding external qualifications, but in virtue of the power of
an indestructible Life (17 for his possession of this is evidenced
1 Gen. 14 20. 2 Cf. Num. 18. 21 foil., Neh. 10. 38.
246 HEB. 7. 18-8. 5
by the statement " Thou art a Priest for ever, of Melchizedek's
rank."1) 18 For there takes place, on the one hand, the abroga-
tion of a prior Code of commands, because of its ineffectiveness
and futility (19 for the Law brought nothing to spiritual per-
fection), and, on the other hand, the introduction of a better
Hope, in the strength of which we draw nigh to God. 20 And,
inasmuch as the appointment of this different type of Priest
was not made without the taking of an oath (21 for whereas
the Levitical Priests became priests without an oath taken by
God, the appointment of Jesus as a Priest was accompanied by
an oath taken by God, Who, speaking to Him, says, as the
words stand in the Scriptural record, " the LORD swore and will
not change His decision : * Thou art a Priest for ever ' "), 22
this implies that the Covenant for which Jesus has become
Surety is a better Covenant. 23 And whereas the Levitical
Priests have been made priests in considerable numbers (since
they are successively prevented by death from remaining in their
Office), 24 He, in consequence of His continuing to exist for
ever, retains His Priesthood, which does not pass to a successor;
25 and hence He is able to save to the uttermost those who
approach God through Him, since He ever lives to intercede
for them. 26 For such a High Priest was appropriate to our
needs and conditions, One Who was saintly, innocent, unstained,
sundered from the sinful, and exalted higher than the Heavens ;
27 and He is not daily under the necessity, like the Levitical
High Priests, of offering up sacrifices first of all for His own
sins, and next for those of the People (for this last function He
discharged once for all, when He offered up Himself). 28 For
the Law appoints as High Priests men who are subject to
moral and physical infirmity, but the declaration in God's oath-
taking, which occurred later than the Law, appoints as High
Priest a Son who has been rendered perfect for ever.
81 And to crown what we havo been saying — we have a High
Priest such as has been described, One who has sat down on
the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens, 2
and acts as Officiating Minister in the Heavenly Sanctuary,
this being the Real Tabernacle, which was pitched not by man
but by the LORD. 3 For every High Priest is appointed to present
both bloodless Offerings and animal Sacrifices ; and accordingly
it is essential that Jesus, too, should have an Offering to pre-
sent. 4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a Priest
at all, since there exist Priests who present the gifts prescribed
by Law, (5 Priests who perform Divine worship in what is a
mere sketch and outline of the Heavenly Sanctuary, just as is
implied in the caution addressed by God to Moses, when he was
about to construct the Tabernacle, " See (God says) that Thou
1 Ps. 109. 4, Sept. ( = 110. 4, Heb.).
HEB. 8. 6—9. 4 247
make every part after the model shewn to thee on the moun-
tain "x). 6 But as it is, Jesus has received a Ministerial Office
more exalted than theirs, in proportion as the " Covenant " of
which He is the Intermediary is superior to the earlier, being
constituted on the basis of better Promises. 7 For if the carry-
ing-out of that first Covenant by the People had afforded no
ground for censure, there would have been no occasion for a
second. 8 But this was not the case. For God, passing censure
on them, declares
" Lo, days are coming (saith the LORD),
When I will conclude with the House of Israel and the
House of Judah a covenant of a new type —
9 Not on the lines of the covenant which I made with their
forefathers,
On the day when I took them by the hand to lead them
forth from the land of Egypt
(Because they, on their part, did not adhere to my cove-
nant,
So I, on my side, paid no regard to them, saith the LORD) : —
10 Because this is the covenant to which I will commit myself
for the House of Israel
After those days, saith the LORD :
I will impress my laws on their mind,
And on their hearts I will inscribe them ;
And I will be to them a God,
And they shall be to me a People;
11 And they will not need to instruct each man his fellow-
citizen,
Or each man his brother, saying ' Acquaint thee with the
LORD/
Because all will know me,
From the lowest to the highest among them ;
12 Because I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And their sins I will no more remember!"2
13 By saying " a covenant of a new type " He has pronounced
the first obsolete. But that which is growing obsolete and anti-
quated is on the verge of disappearing altogether.
91 The First Covenant, then, had ordinances for Divine wor-
ship ; and had, as its Sanctuary, one that shared the nature
of the material world. 2 For there was constructed a Taber-
nacle— consisting, first, of a Front Tent, containing the Lamp-
stand, and the Table, and the Loaves of Oblation ; and this is
termed " The Holy Place." 3 And behind the second Curtain
there came a Rear, Tent, termed " The Holy of Holies," 4 con-
taining the Golden Altar of Incense,3 and the Ark of the Cove-
1 Ex. 25. 40; slightly divergent. a Jcr. 31. 3'-34; slightly diver-
gent from the Hcb s Contrast Ex. 30. 6.
248 HEB. 9. 5—17
nant, covered on all sides with gold plating ; and within this were
the Golden Casket containing the Manna, and Aaron's Rod,
which had sprouted, and the stone Tablets inscribed with the
Covenant; 5 whilst above it, overshadowing the Propitiatory —
the cover of the Ark — were the Cherubim, whereon rested the
Divine Glory; though about these matters it is impossible to
speak in detail now. 6 Such being the construction of the
Sanctuary in its completeness, the Priests, when performing the
rites of Divine worship, enter constantly into the Front Tent;
7 but into the Second Tent the High Priest enters alone once
a year, never without the accompaniment of sacrificial blood,
which he offers for himself and for the unwitting offences of the
People, 8 the Holy Spirit thereby indicating that the way into
the Sanctuary has not yet been thrown open to the People at
large, so long as the Front Tent still retains its position. 9
Now the Front Tent is a symbol of the present preliminary
period, for in this Tent there are presented bloodless Offerings
and animal Sacrifices, though these cannot render the participator
in Divine worship perfect in conscience, 10 since they are con-
cerned merely with foods and drinks and various ablutions —
ordinances of a physical nature, prescribed only for an interval,
till the fitting moment is reached for the Reconstruction of all
things, ii But when Christ came as High Priest in connection
with the Blessings that are to be, He passed through the Superior
and more Perfect Tabernacle, reared by no human hands (I
mean, no part of this material Creation) ; 12 and with the
accompaniment, not of the blood of goats and calves, but of
His own Blood, He entered once for all into the Real Holy of
Holies, having obtained for us a Redemption that is eternal. 13
For if the^ blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer
(the latter being sprinkled on those who have incurred physical
defilement)1 become sanctifying agencies for effecting ceremonial
purification, 14 how much more effectively will the Blood of
the Christ, Who, through Spirit, eternal in its potency, offered
Himself as a spotless Sacrifice to God, avail to purify our con-
sciences from being satisfied with works lacking spiritual Life,
and to fit us to take part in worship rendered to a Living God.
13 And it is for this reason — because His Blood avails spiritually
—that He is the Intermediary of a new type of " covenant,'Mn
order that, since a Death has taken place for men's redemption
from the transgressions committed under the First Covenant,
those who have been Called by God and have responded, may
receive the Eternal heritage that has been promised. 16 For
even when a covenant is contracted between men, the death of
each contracting party must be publicly represented, 17 since a
covenant has validity only when made over dead bodies — those
of the contracting parties, symbolized by sacrificed victims (since
1 See Num. 19.
HEB. 9. 18—10. 5 249
is it, I ask, of any binding force as long as either contracting
party, a* symbolized by hi* sacrificial victim, is still living?).
18 Consequently, even the First Covenant was not inaugurated
without the shedding of blood; 19 for after every command-
ment comprised in the Law had been communicated to all the
People by Moses, the latter took the blood of the calves and the
goats, together with water, and scarlet wool, and a hyssop-
stalk; and with the blood he sprinkled both the Law-book itself
and all the People, 20 declaring " This is the Blood making
binding the Covenant which God has commanded you to keep."1
21 And the Tabernacle and all the vessels used in the performance
of organized worship he likewise sprinkled with the blood. 22 So
it might almost be said that by the Law everything is required
to be purified by blood; and without the shedding of blood no
forgiveness is possible. 23 It was necessary, therefore, that,
whilst the copies of the Realities in yonder Heavens should be
purified by such rites as these, the Heavenly Realities themselves
should be purified by better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ
did not enter into a Sanctuary constructed by human hands and
merely symbolising the Real, but into Heaven itself, now to
present Himself for us before the Face of God. 25 Nor has He
done so for the purpose of offering Himself in sacrifice frequently
(as the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies every year, taking
with Him blood that is not his own), 26 seeing that ^otherwise
Christ would have had to suffer death repeatedly since the
foundation of the world. But as it is, He has manifested Him-
self once for all at the Consummation of the World's successhe
Ages, to abolish sin through the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And
inasmuch as the destiny in store for men is to die only once,
Judgment following afterwards, 28 so the Christ, too, after hav-
ing been offered up only once in order " toi bear away the sins of
many,"2 will appear a second time (no longer burdened by
human sin) to those who wait for Him, for the accomplishment
of their Salvation.
"| f\ i For the Law, since it provides only an outline of the
jL\J Blessings to come, and not a perfect reproduction of the
Reality of those Blessings, can never, by a repetition of the same
sacrifices which the Priests present perpetually year by year,
render perfect those who approach to worship; 2 otherwise,
would not such sacrifices (/ ask) have ceased to be presented,
because the worshippers, purified once for all, would have no
further consciousness of unforgiven sins? 3 But in point of fact,
what is effected by such sacrifices is merely a reminder of sins
every year; 4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and
goats to remove sins. 5 This is the reason why the Son, when
entering the world, declares,
1 See Ex. 24. 8 ; divergent. a Is. 53. 12.
250 HEB. 10. 6—24
" Animal sacrifice and offering Thou didst not want ;
But a human body Thou didst prepare for me :
6 In whole burnt-offerings and sin-offerings Thou didst find
no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ' Lo, I am come (in the roll of the Book this
is written for my instruction) to do. O God. Thy
will."'1
8 Starting with the assertion, " Animal sacrifices and offerings
and whole burnt-offerings and sin-offerings (which are the kind
which the Law requires to be presented) Thou didst not want,
nor didst find pleasure in them, 9 He has then added, " Lo, I am
come to do Thy will." He negatives the first kind of sacrifice
in order to substitute the second. 10 And it is by the fulfilment
of thisi Will of God that we have been Hallowed — through Jesus
Christ's offering of His Body once for all. n And whereas
every other priest stands officiating every day, and offering re-
peatedly the same sacrifices — sacrifices of a nature that can never
remove sins — 12 He, after offering a single Sacrifice for sins,
availing in perpetuity, has taken His seat at God's right hand,
13 waiting henceforward until His enemies are made a footsjtool
for His feet; 14 for by a single offering He has perfected in
perpetuity those who are Hallowed. 15 Testimony to this we
also have from the Holy Spirit, for after affirming
16 " This is the * Covenant ' with them to which I will com-
mit myself
After those days, saith the LORD :
I will impress my laws on their hearts,
And upon their mind I will inscribe them,"
He continues
17 " And their sins and their offences I will remember no
more."
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, an offering for sin
is- no longer needed.
19 Since we have, then, Brothers, confidence for approach-
ing, through the Blood of Jesus, the entry into the Holy of
Holies — 20 an entry which He has opened up for us, by a Way
newly made and conducting to Life, through the Rent Curtain,
that is, His Flesh, which separated Him from the immediate
Presence of God and which was rent on the Cross, 21 and since
we have a Great Priest presiding over the Household of God, 22
let us draw near God with sincere heart, in the fulness of con-
vfction which faith creates, with our hearts purified (as by
sprinkling) from a bad conscience, and our bodies bathed in
pure water at our Baptism. 23 Let us maintain unswervingly
the Hope which we have professed to hold (for He Who gave
the Promise is faithful to it), 24 and let'us take one another
1 Ps. 39. 7-9, Sept. ( = 40 7-9, Heb.) ; varies widely from the Heb.
in vtr. 7.
* HEB. 10. 25—11. 3 251
into our thoughts with the aim of stimulating mutual love and
good deeds, 25 not abandoning our devotional meetings, as
some habitually do, but thereby encouraging one another, and
doing this the more earnestly because you see the Day of the
Lord drawing nigh. 26 For if we sin wilfully after we have
gained full knowledge of the Truth, there is no longer in reserve
any sacrifice for sin; 27 there is left only a terrifying
expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which is going
to consume God's adversaries. 28 Any one who has wilfully
disregarded the Law of Moses is put to death without pity, on
the evidence of two or three witnesses.1 29 How much
severer punishment will he be adjudged to deserve who has
trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has attached no sacred
significance to the Blood of the Covenant whereby he was
Hallowed, and has outraged the Spirit, the bestowal of which
is the token of God's Favour? 30 For we know Him Who
said, " To me belongs the infliction of Vengeance : it is I who
will requite ";2 and again, " The LORD will pass judgment upon
His People. "s 31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands
of a Living God.
32 Call to mind those earlier days in which, after you had
been enlightened, you sustained a hard and painful struggle, 33
partly through being yourselves made, by taunts and afflictions,
a public spectacle, and partly through avowing fellowship with
those who underwent this experience. 34 For you showed sym-
pathy with those who were imprisoned ; and you submitted cheer-
fully to the seizure of your possessions, knowing that you had
in yourselves a better and a lasting Possession. 35 Do not,
therefore, abandon your confident attitude, for it brings great
recompense. 36 For you still have need of steadfastness, in
order that, after having done the will of God, you may obtain
what He has promised. 37 For
" Yet a little, a very little, while,4
And He Who is coming will come and will not linger;
38 The righteous, through having faith, shall live;
But if he draweth back, my soul findeth no pleasure in
him."5
39 But we are not of those who draw back, and so incur perdi-
tion, but of those who have faith, for the gaining of the soul.
ni Now Faith is confidence in the existence of what is
hoped for, an endeavour to verify the reality of things
not seen ; 2 for it was through exercising such faith that the
heroes of old won their good record, preserved in the Scriptures.
3 Through faith we apprehend that the world, with its successive
Ages, has been constituted by a Word from God, so that what
» Dt. 17. 6. 2 Dt. 32. 35*. * Dt. 32. 36». 4 Hag.
2. 6». 5 See Hab. 2. 3b, 4b.
252 HKB. 11. 4—18
we see has had its origin from things invisible to the senses. 4 It
was through his faith that Abel offered to God a *more accept-
able* sacrifice than Cain ; and in consequence of his faith he got
his good record, as standing in a right relation to God, God Him-
self bearing evidence in his favour on the occasion of his offering
his gifts ; and though he died, yet through his faith he speaks to
us by hu> example still. 5 Through his faith Enoch was removed
from earth to Heaven without experiencing death, and no re-
mains of him could anywhere be found, because God had removed
him; for there stands in the Scriptures his good record that,
before his removal from earth, he had pleased God, 6 and with-
out faith it is impossible to please Him ; for he that approaches
to God must believe that He exists, and proves a Rewarder of
those that seek Him. 7 Through his faith Noah, being divinely
warned about a catastrophe which was not yet within sight,
proceeded conscientiously to construct an Ark for the preservation
of his household; and by the building of this he passed con-
demnation upon the unbelieving world through the contrast to
it which he presented; and so he acquired a title to the right
standing with God that results from faith. 8 Through his faith
Abraham was submissive to God's Call to go forth to a place
which he was to receive as his own possession, though, when
he went forth, he did not know whither he was to go. 9
Through his faith he sojourned in the promised Land (as strange
to him as a foreign country), dwelling there in tents with Isaac
and Jacob, who were sharers with him in the same promised
possession ; 10 for he was waiting for the City which, unlike
an earthly abode, has permanent foundations, and of which the
Designer and Constructor is God. n Through her faith even
Sarah, too, obtained strength to conceive (though she was past
the normal time of life for motherhood), since she believed that
He Who had promised her a son could be trusted to redeem
His promise ; 12 and consequently from a single individual —
and that, too, one whose physical vigour had decayed — there
sprang descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, or the
countless grains of sand on the edge of the sea. 13 These all
died sustained by their faith, without having received what was
promised, but merely descrying and hailing it from a distance,
and owning that they were but strangers and sojourners upon
the earth; 14 for those who use such terms plainly intimate
that they seek a permanent homeland which they have not yet
reached. 15 If what they had in mind was the land from which
they had migrated, they would have had an opportunity of re-
tracing their steps thither; 16 but as it is, they yearn for a
better, that is, a Heavenly, home-land. Consequently God. is
not ashamed of them — not ashamed of being called their God,
as He showed, for He has prepared lor them a City. 17
Through his faith Abraham, when he was put to the test, did
not shrink from offering up Isaac — 18 yes, he who had wel-
HEB. 11. 19—35 253
corned the Promises, and had been told that " Only through
Isaac shall there be traced a posterity that shall bear thy name,"1
was prepared to offer up his only son, 19 reckoning that even
from among the dead God was able to raise him to life; and,
indeed, in a figurative sense it was from the dead that he re-
covered him. 20 Through his faith Isaac blessed Jacob and
Esau, even in connection with things still in the future. 21
Through his faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of Joseph's
sons, bending in worship over the top of his staff.2 22 Through his
faith Joseph, when nearing his end, made mention of the coming
departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, and gave directions
about the disposal of his bones.3 23 Through their faith Moses'
parents, for two months after his birth, concealed him,4 because
they saw that the child was a beautiful boy, and they were not
intimidated by the king's edict. 24 Through his faith Moses,
when grown up, refused to be termed son of a daughter of the
Pharaoh, 25 preferring to undergo ill-usage together with the
People of God than to have the transitory enjoyment of sin, 26
since he considered the pbloquy endured by the Anointed People
greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he directed his
eyes to the Recompense in store. 27 Through his faith he left
Egypt behind, not abandoning his purpose of helping his country-
men, through fear of the king's wrath, for he was undaunted,
as was natural for one who saw the King Invisible. 28 Through
nis faith he kept the Passover and carried out the prescribed
dashing of the Blood upon the door-posts of the houses, that the
Angel who was destroying the first-born of the Egyptians might
not touch those of Israel.6 29 Through their faith the Israelites
passed through the Red Sea, as over dry ground; whereas, when
the Egyptians attempted to do the same, they were engulfed.6 30
Through faith on the part of Israel the walls of Jericho, after
they were encircled for six days, fell down.7 31 Through her
faith Rahab the harlot was preserved from perishing along with
those who had been defiant, because she had received the spies
peaceably.8 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail
me jf I attempt to narrate the history of Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephthah, t)avid, Samuel, and the prophets who succeeded him.
33 These, in consequence of their faith, triumphed over hostile
realms, executed justice upon the guilty, found Divine promises
fulfilled to them, closed the jaws of lions, 34 quenched the
power of fire, escaped the devouring sword, from conditions of
weakness became endowed with strength, proved valiant in war,
routed embattled forces of foreigners. 35 In some cases women
received back their dead by a resurrection ; others were clubbed
to death, refusing the reprieve offered them on condition of
1 Gen 21. 12 2 See Gen. 47 31, Sept.; the Hebrew differs.
3 Gen. 50 24 4 Ex. 2 2. * Lz. 12. 21-30. ' Ex.
14. 21-30. 7 Josh. 6. 15 f. 8 Josh. 6. 25.
254 HEB. 11. 36—12. 13
apostasy, in order that they might gain a Resurrection to a
Better Life. 36 Others, again, had experience of mockings and
scourgings — yes, and chains and imprisonments besides; 37
they were stoned ; *they were burnt* ; they were sawn in two ;
they were butchered by the sword ; they had to roam about, clad
only in skins of sheep and goats, suffering from destitution,
distress, and ill-usage — 38 men of whom the world was un-
worthy— wandering in deserts and among mountains, and hiding
in caverns and underground cavities. 39 And all these, though
they won their good record in consequence of their faith, yet
did not obtain immediately what had been promised, 40 God
having in view in our case something better, that they might
not be brought to perfection independently of us.
"| O i Therefore, let us, too, who are encircled by such a vast
jL'ml cloud of witnesses attesting the value of faith, discard
every hampering weight — by that I mean the sin which hems
us round — and let us run with staunchness the Race that
lies before us, 2 fixing our eyes upon Jesus, Who has been
our Leader in manifesting faith, and Who evinced it to per-
fection ; for He, in consideration of the joy which He had in
prospect, endured a Cross, making light of the ignominy of it,
and has taken His seat on the right hand of God's Throne. 3
To save yourselves fromi fainting and collapse, consider the
steadfastness of Him Who endured from sinners such antagon-
ism to Himself. 4 In your struggle against Sin your resistance
has not yet cost you your blood ; 5 and have you forgotten the
Appeal which reasons with you as with sons? —
" My son, undervalue not the LORD'S discipline,
And faint not when thou art corrected by Him ;
6 For it is he whom the LORD loveth that He disciplined! ;
And He scourgeth every son whom He acknowledged!."1
7 Your steadfastness serves to discipline you ; and God deals
with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father
does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, of
which all men have their share, then you are base-born, and not
true sons. 9 Moreover, in our earthly fathers we have had dis-
ciplinarians, and we paid them respect; and shall we not far
more cheerfully show subordination to the Father of Spirits,
and so live the true Life? 10 For the former used to discipline us
according to their own fallible judgment for a brief time, whereas
God disciplines us with unfailing insight for our advantage, with
a view to our participating in His holiness, n All discipline,
though for the moment it is not pleasant but painful, yet later
produces as its result, for those who have been trained by it,
the righteousness that brings peace. 12 Consequently, re-in-
vigorate the nerveless hands and the paralyzed knees, 13 and
1 Prov. 3. n, 12; slightly divergent.
HEB. 12. 14—28 255
make straight paths for your feet to tread in, that the lame limb
may not be dislocated through irregularities in the road, but may
be healed instead.
14 Make your aims the maintenance of peace with all, and
at the same time that holiness of life, apart from which no one
will see the LORD. 15 Keep a watchful eye, lest any should
come short of the response that God's Favour demands, and lest
some pernicious influence, like the root of a poisonous weed send-
ing a shoot upwards, should occasion trouble, and the majority
of you be contaminated by it; 16 and lest any should be
immoral, or a worldling, like Esau, who for a single meal
bartered his birthright. 17 For you know that, even though he
wished afterwards to inherit his father's blessing (which was
included in the birthright), his appeal was rejected, for he got
no opportunity of reversing his choice, though he sought with
tears the blessing which he had forfeited.1 18 You have not
come, like Israel, to a mountain, tangible in nature and ablaze
with fire, and to murk, and gloom, and tempest, 19 the blast
of a Trumpet, and a Speaking Voice, so alarming that those who
heard it begged that in mercy nothing more should be said to
them, 20 for they could not bear to listen to the injunction,
" Even if a wild creature toucheth the mountain, it must be
stoned."2 21 So terrible, indeed, was the scene that Moses said,
" I am terror-stricken and trembling."3 22 On the contrary,
you have come to Mount Zion, the City of the Living God, the
Heavenly Jerusalem, to countless angels, 23 to a Festal Gather-
ing and* Assemblage of God's First-born, whose names are en-
rolled in Heaven, and to a Judge Who is the God of all, and to
the spirits of Righteous men who have been brought to per-
fection, 24 to Jesius, the Intermediary of a New Covenant,
and to the Sprinkled Blood that speaks in nobler accents than
did the blood of Abel.4 25 See that you do not refuse to listen
to Him Who speaks to you, for if there was no escape for those
who, when on earth, refused to listen to Him Who uttered His
warnings from an earthly Height, how much more certainly will
there be none for us who turn a deaf ear to Him Who speaks
from Heaven itself! 26 Whose Voice then made the earth to
rock, whereas now He has given an assurance in these words,
" Yet again, once for all, I will cause not only the Earth but
also the very Heaven to quake."5 27 And this expression, " Yet
again, once for all," implies the final passing away of all that
can be shaken (as being created and material) in order that the
realities which are incapable of being shaken (since they are
immaterial) may alone remain. 28 Accordingly let us who are
to receive a Dominion which is proof against any shock give
thanks, for this will enable us to offer acceptably to God, with
1 Gen. 27. a See Ev. 19. 12, 13 s Derived from some un-
known source. 4 See Gen. 4. n. 8 Hag. 2. 6; modified
256 HEIJ, 13. 1—17
conscientiousness and awe, Divine worship, 29 for our God is a
consuming Fire.
"1 O i Let Brotherliness be maintained. 2 Do not forget the
J-O practice of hospitality, for thereby some have entertained,
without knowing it, angels as their guests. 3 Keep in mind
your fellow-Believers who are imprisoned (as sharing, through
your corporate union with them, their imprisonment), and those
who are maltreated (as being yourselves in the body, and conse-
quently liable to similar ill-usage). 4 Let marriage be held in
honour in all respects, and let conjugal relations be kept pure
from defilement, for the immoral and adulterous will be brought
to judgment by God. 5 Have no leaning towards the love of
money, and be content with what you have got, for God Him-
self has declared, " I will never let thee go, and will never for-
sake thee " ;* 6 so that we may with good courage say,
" The LORD is my Helper, I" will dismiss all fear :
What harm can man do unto me?"3
7 Call to mind your dead leaders, for It was they who told
you God's Message; and when you look back upon the close of
their careers, imitate the faith which they showed. 8 Jesus
Christ, the object of their faith, is, in the past, in the present,
and for all time to come, ever the Same. 9 Do not be diverted
from the straight path by a variety of strange doctrines ; for
the right course is to have our resolution braced by a sense of
Divine Favour and not by restrictions about particular foods ;
those who make the observance of such restrictions a rule of
conduct have not been benefited thereby. 10 We have an Altar,
indeed, but of the Oblations presented on it they who perform
Divine worship in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. u For
(to draw a parallel from the Mosaic Law) the bodies of the
victims whose blood, as an offering for sin, is taken by the High
Priest into the Holy of Holies, are not eaten by the worshippers
but are burnt outside the camp.3 12 Consequently, Jesus also,
that He might by His own Blood sanctify the People, suffered out-
side the City-gate. 13 Let us, therefore, go forth to Him " out-
side the camp," enduring the same obloquy as He endured; 14
for we have here no lasting City, but we seek the City that is
to come. 15 Through Him let us offer up to God as a sacrifice
continual praise, which is a spiritual Harvest springing from
lips expressing gratitude for the Revelation of Himself in Christ.
16 Do not forget the practice of beneficence and liberality, for
it is with such sacrifices as these that God is greatly pleased. 17
Obey your present leaders, and comply with their directions, for
it is they who exercise vigilance for the welfare of your souls (as
men who must render an account of their charge), that they may
1 Josh. i. 5. 2 Ps. 117. 5, Sept. ( = 118. 6, Heb.) 3 See ETC
2Q. 14; Lev. 4. i -21.
HEB. 13. 18-25 257
meet their responsibilities with joy and not with sighing, for
that would be of little advantage to you I
18 Continue to pray for us, since we are becoming more
and more persuaded that we have a clear conscience, since it is
our wish to conduct ourselves honourably in every respect. 19
And I appeal to you all the more earnestly to carry out this re-
quest of mine, in order that I may be restored to you the sooner.
20 May the God of Peace Who brought up from among the dead
Him Who is the Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, of the Sheep,
with the marks of the Blood shed by Him to make binding an
Eternal Covenant, even our Lord Jesus Christ 21 — may God
(I repeat) equip you thoroughly with every good quality, for the
accomplishment of His will, achieving in us what is pleasing in
His sight, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be Glory for ever
and ever, Amen. 22 I appeal to you, Brothers, put up with this
hortatory address of mine, for it is only with brevity that I have
written, and so perhaps with inadequacy. 23 Let me inform you
that our Brother Timothy has been released : should he come
here soon, he will be with me when I visit you. 24 Convey
my kind remembrances to all your Leaders, and to all God's
Hallowed People. The Immigrants from Italy send you their
kind remembrances. 25 God's Favour be with you all.
THE GOSPEL OF
ST. LUKE
The Third Gospel does not contain its author's name, but its
origin is ascribed to St. Luke by the compiler of the Muratonan
Catalogue, and by Irenaeus, the latter stating that " Luke,1 the
attendant of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel which was pro-
claimed by him " This external testimony is supported by internal
evidence. For there are numerous features of style and diction
which point to the common authorship of the Third Gospel and its
sequel Acts; whilst the latter work almost certainly was composed
by the writer of the Diary from which extracts have been incor-
porated (p 387-8) The Diarist was a fellow traveller of St. Paul's
on several of his Missionary Journeys, and consequently he must
have been one of a very small group of persons, of whom St. Luke
is much the most likely. He joined the Apostle at Troas, on the
latter's Second Journey (Acts 16. 10) ; he was with him in Macedonia
(16. 12-17); accompanied him to Palestine on his return from his
last Journey (20. 6 — 21. 18); and was his companion on the voy-
J The Greek is Lucas, representing the Latin Lucanus, Lucius, or
even Lucihus. For the contraction cf. Ant i pas for Antipatros ;
Artemas for Artemidorus ; Cleopas for Cleopatros ; Epaphras for
Epaphrodttus.
258 LUKK, INT.
age from Caesarea to Rome (27. 1—28. 14). St. Luke is railed by
St. Paul a doctor (Col. 4. 14) ; and there is some confirmation of this
description of him (if he was the author of the Gospel) in the diction
of certain passages (4. 38; 5. 12; 8. 44) which, as compared with
the parallels in Mk., contain phrases employed by medical writers
like Galen and Hippocrates. He was a Gentile by race (Col. 4. n),
and is represented by Eusebius as being a native of Antioch, though
it seems probable that he had close connections with the Macedonian
town of Philippi. In composing his Gospel he appears to have had
Gentile Christians chiefly in view. So far as is known, he never
came into contact with Jesus (the Muratorian Catalogue definitely
affirming that he never saw the Lord in the flesh), and his know-
ledge of His Life and Teaching was obtained from others (see i. 2).
The information comprised in his Gospel was derived from at
least two literary sources — the Gospel of St. Mark and the docu-
ment designated by the symbol Q (see p. 123). The evidence that
he made use of Mk. is drawn from a comparison between the Third
and the Second Gospel, for the similarity of the language in which
incidents, recorded in common, are described makes dependence on
one side or the other practically certain ; and the circumstance that
the First Gospel shews the like resemblance to Mk. indicates fairly
conclusively that the latter has been utilized by the writers of both
Mt. and Lk. The degree of resemblance between the Third and the
Second Gospel varies in different passages ; but how close it is in
some narratives (in addition to those cited on p. 124) can be seen by
an examination of Lk. 4. 31-35 beside Mk. \. 21-26. Some critics,
however, have contended that the common element in the first three
Gospels is sufficiently accounted for by supposing that the evangelists
reproduced what was taught in Church circles catechetically, but
that each shortened, expanded, or otherwise modified such instruc-
tion as circumstances rendered desirable. Whether this is an
adequate explanation of the phenomena presented must here be left
to the judgment of scholars. In the case of the numerous passages
in Mt. and Lk. which exhibit great similarity to one another (cf.
Mt. 3. 7b-io with Lk. 3. 7b-9), where borrowing by both from Mk. is
out of the question, the hypothesis that the writers of the First and
Third Gospels used in common a second literary Source seems
justified, though, since the Source has not survived, the argument
is not equally conclusive.
St. Luke, like the author of Mt., has omitted portions of Mk.,
the omissions in the Third Gospel being much more numerous than
those in the First. Besides shorter passages, there is absent from
the Third Gospel the extensive section 6. 45 — 8. 26. Like the author
of Mt. also, the Third Evangelist has comprised in his Gospel a
number of passages which are derived neither from Mk. nor from
Q; but again, there is a difference between the two writers, the
passages which are peculiar to Lk. being much more considerable
than those which occur only in Mt. Nearly six chapters in the
middle of the book (13. i — 18. 14), besides numerous short sections,
LUKE, INT. 259
some preceding the long section just indicated (3. 10-15; 7. 36 — 8. 3;
9. 51-56; 10. 29-42; n. 5-8; 12. 13-21), and some following it (18.
1-14; 19. 1-27; 22. 43, 44; 23. 4-15; 24. i2-end), have no parallel in
the other two Synoptists. The presence in the Third Gospel of these
distinctive sections has to be explained ; and the alternative possi-
bilities are (a) that they reached St. Luke through oral tradition,
(b) that they originally stood in Q, or (c) that they were derived from
a third documentary Source distinct from Mk. and Q. The question
whence St. Luke obtained them can scarcely be separated from the
question why he omitted so much of Mk. It is not likely that the
Evangelist used an earlier, and briefer, form of the Second Gospel :
it is much more probable that, being unwilling to fill more than one
roll of papyrus (for such rolls were generally of a uniform length),
and yet being acquainted with much matter that had no place in
Mk.t he left out considerable portions of the latter to find place for
what was new. But he would scarcely have omitted such a large
portion of Mk. as he has done, for the sake of oral traditions, whereas
he might readily have preferred to some narratives contained in
Mk. others which he found in a different document. And a docu-
ment containing such might be Q, for this may have been much more
extensive than it is inferred to have been, when account is taken
only of the passages which are common to Mt. and Lk.t but which
are not found in Mk. But the third alternative is rendered the most
probable of all by consideration of the way in which St. Luke has
arranged the materials borrowed from his sources Mk. and Q. His
method, broadly described, was to unite them in successive blocks,
4 31 — 6. 19 being mainly derived from Mk.;1 6 20 — 7. 35 princi-
pally from Q; 8. 5 — 9. 50 predominantly from Mk.; 9. 57 — 12. 59
chiefly, though not quite so predominantly, from Q. The section
13. i — 1 8. 14 is similarly a massive block of material peculiar to
Lk , which is again succeeded by a considerable passage (18. 15-43)
from Mk. ; and this in turn by a passage (19. 1-27) peculiar to
Lk., and this by another (19. 28 — 24. n) mainly from Mk., the
book concluding with a final section (comprising an account of the
Resurrection) distinctive of this Gospel (24. 13 — end). The circum-
stance that the centre of the book is occupied by so large a section
peculiar to it creates a presumption that this, like the materials
derived from Mk. and Q, also comes from a written Source.
In view of the facts that the conclusion of the book, narrating
the Resurrection Appearances, is derived from this hypothetical docu-
ment (which may be denoted by £), and that ch. 3, relating the
Mission of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus, is drawn
mainly from Q and the Source symbolized by Lt and opens with a
chronological statement appropriate to the beginning of a work, it
has been suggested that the sections from Q and L had been united
before the materials derived from Mk. were added; and that these
sections together constituted a Gospel, or at least the first draft of
1 5. 3-9 is peculiar to Lk.
18
260 LUKE, INT.
one. This must .have comprised much that is absent from Mk.,
and lacked much that is found in Mk.; and also preserved variant
accounts of certain incidents related in Mk., such as the story of
Jesus* visit to Nazareth (Lk. 4. 16-30 = ^. 6. 1-6), the narrative of
the Anointing of Jesus by a woman (Lk. 7. 36-50= ^/£. 14. 3-9), and
the enquiry about the course of conduct necessary for ensuring
Eternal Life (Lk. 10. 25 t.=Mk. 12. 28-34). If, as seems probable,
it was St. Luke himself who combined the contents, in whole or in
part, of Q and L, the resultant composition may plausibly be
designated Proto-Luke. This, an early outline of his contemplated
work (which included comparatively little information about Jesus'
Gahlaean Ministry), the Evangelist supplemented by extracts from
Mk., relating more fully our Lord's Wanderings, Discourses, and
Works in Galilee. When it was thus expanded, and the inserted
matter and its new context were adjusted to one another, he prefixed
to the compilation the Story of the Infancy (perhaps a translation
of a narrative originally composed in Aramaic, for its style con-
trasts strikingly with that of the rest of the Gospel, although there are
Hebrew or Aramaic features in the latter) ; and so the work eventu-
ally reached its present proportions.
Proto-Luke may have been put together between 61 and 70;
and converted into Luke about 80, or at least after 70, since in 21. 20
the writer has replaced Mk. 13. 14 by language seemingly reflecting
the circumstances of the siege of Jerusalem. This date, however,
has been disputed on the ground (among other reasons) that the
Third Evangelist, if he wrote after 70, would not have introduced
the command that the Christians of Jerusalem should fly to the hills
(Mk. 13. 14 = Lk. 21. 21), since, in the event, they really took refuge
at Pella in the Jordan valley. Those critics who think that Acts
was written shortly after 61, and that St. Paul was released from
prison after the expiration of the two years mentioned in Acts 28. 30,
have to carry the composition of the Gospel back to a date some
years anterior to 60, and that of Proto-Luke to a proportionately
earlier period.
Some critics still believe that St. Luke's extracts from Mk. con-
stituted the ground-plan of his complete work. They account for
the omission of Mk. 6. 45 — 8. 26 by rinding reasons why the different
parts of this section may individually have been left out. Thus
7. 1-23 and 24-30 respectively would lack interest for, and be liable to
give offence to, Gentile readers; 7. 32-37 and 8. 22-26 relate cures
in which material means are employed; and 8. i-io records a
miracle which closely resembles another previously included (6. 34-
44). But the assumption that Proto-Luke was the author's funda-
mental document explains best the omission of the long Marcan
section 6. 45 — 8. 26 : exigencies of space compelled him to dispense
with a great deal of Mk., and in these circumstances it would be
the simplest expedient to leave out a whole block, the choice of the
particular block being perhaps determined by some of the considera-
tion* mentioned above.
LUKE, INT. 261
St. Luke, in incorporating sections from Mk.t frequently
abbreviates his authority : see, for instance, 6. 17-19 beside Mk.
3. 7-12. The desire to reduce in compass some of his material may
explain the abruptness with which the account of Jesus' Baptism
is introduced in 3. 21, and the mention, in 4. 38, of Simon's mother-
in-law without any previous reference to Simon himself (contrast
Mk. i. 1 6- 1 8). On the other hand, in certain narratives derived from
his Sources he inserts additions, such as appear in his account
of the Transfiguration (9. 28-35) as compared with St. Mark's (9.
2-7) : contrast also Lk. 8. n; 9. 20 with Mk. 4. 14; 8. 29. In incor-
porating material from St. Mark he sometimes, like the First Evan-
gelist, omits or qualifies statements which seem to be lacking in
reverence for our Lord or His Apostles (passing over, for instance,
Mk. 6. 5 and 8. 32, 33).
In his historical narrative St. Luke generally retains the
sequence of events, as this is given in Mk., though he departs from
St. Mark's order in regard to the Call of Peter, James, and John.
There is a consequent presumption that he has commonly, when
borrowing sayings from Q, preserved the succession in which they
appeared in that document. In regard to various Precepts and Dis-
courses drawn from Q by both the First Evangelist and the Third,
the latter, unlike the former, often prefixes to them a short prefatory
statement, explaining the circumstances in which they could be re-
garded as having been uttered: see u. 37-41 (contrast Mt. 23. 25,
26) and 15. 1-7 (contrast Mt. 18. 12-14). On tne other hand, certain
verses derived by the Third Evangelist from Q and from Mk. appear
to have been detached (through some cause or other) from their
original surroundings, and to have been placed by the compiler in
a fresh context, with no regard for appropriateness Instances of
such are 6. 40 (the proper connection being apparent in Mt. 10
24-25) and 16 1 8 (which is in its natural position in the long passage
Mk. 10. 2-12). Occasionally passages are associated with one another
through containing a word in common, even though it may be used
in each with a different import: see n. 33 and 34-36; 13. 24 and 25
The Third Evangelist generally re-casts passages borrowed from
the Second Gospel (re-writing, for instance, in 4. 38-39, the narrative
in Mk. i. 29-31). Such re-casting often removes the ambiguity
occasioned by the Second Evangelist's careless use of pronouns (see
5. 29 beside Mk. 2. 15 and 9. 42 beside Mk. 9. 20, 25, 26). Even
when St. Luke retains much of St. Mark's language, he often im-
proves the* style of the Greek, replacing one of two co-ordinate verbs
by a participle (18. 24; 19. 32; 22. 8 beside Mk. 10. 23; n. 4; 14.
13); and (with the author of Mt.) substituting a past tense for the
historic present, which is such a conspicuous feature of the Second
Gospel (see 5. 20, 22, 24, 31 and 8. 19-21 by the side of Mk. 2. 5,
8> 10> *7; 3- 3X*34)- His own style is characterized by the frequent
use of Semitisms (with which he probably became acquainted
through the influence of the Hebrew O.T. on the Sept.), though
curiously enough, he often omits Hebrew (or Aramaic) words occur-
262 LUKE, INT.
ring in Mk., such as Rabbi, Talitha kum, Golgotha, replacing them
by Greek equivalents. He also avoids several of the Latinisms that
figure in the Second Gospel.
A prominent element in the contents of the Lucan documentary
Source symbolized by L is the number of stories by which Jesus is
represented as illustrating and enforcing the instruction He sought
to impart : such do not teach by analogy, as is the case with
allegories and parables, but directly, setting forth types of character
or conduct which men are to imitate or avoid (see 10. 30 f. ; 12. 16 f. ;
16. 19 f. ; 18. 9 f.). In the nature of these stories L differs from the
other Sources used.
The Third Evangelist is the only historian among the N.T.
writers who prefixes to his work a preface (in this following the
example of the writer of Ecclesiasticus}. St. Luke's Gospel was
ostensibly written for an influential individual, a certain Theophilus
(if this is really a personal name, and not a descriptive epithet).
Theophilus was presumably a Roman citizen, who was interested in
Christianity, and whose adhesion to it St. Luke was desirous of
winning or confirming. He consequently brings into relief (as, in-
deed, a Gentile Christian might be expected to do) those aspects of
Christ's life and work which were specially likely to appeal to a
non-Jewish reader; and is less concerned than is the author of Mt,
to shew that in the Christian Faith there was to be found the ful-
filment of the beliefs and hopes of Israel (for the Third Evangelist
cites at length but few passages from the O.T.). A feature of his
book is the inclusion in it of some narratives relating to Samaritans,
which place them in a favourable light (10. 25-37; J7- 1I~I9) : tne
sympathy thus shewn towards them was perhaps due to his friend-
ship with Philip "the Missionary," who laboured in Samaria (Acts
8. 5; 21. 8) and to his use of memoranda compiled by Philip.
The Gospel of St. Luke has more the appearance of an historical
work than the other Gospels, inasmuch as the writer dates various
events which he recounts by reference to the reigns, or the periods
of office, of contemporary Sovereigns and Governors; but difficulties
attach to some of his chronological statements. He represents John
the Baptist, and probably Jesus (who was only six months younger
than John) as born within the lifetime of Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.),
the birth of Jesus taking place during a registration of the people
held by order of the Emperor Augustus, " when Quinnius was
governor of Syria" (Lk. i. 5; 2. 2). But the only registration
known to have been carried out by Quinnius is that mentioned in
Acts v. 37, which occurred in 6 or 7 A.D. ; so that, if Jesus was
born then, Herod was no longer alive. It has, however, been argued
that Quinnius, between 10 and 7 B.C., led a campaign against a
tribe occupying a region to the north of Syria, and that St. Luke
has in mind an earlier registration held in some year between 10
and 7 B.C., whilst Quinnius was discharging, not, indeed, a gover-
norship, but a military command on the borders of Syria. If Jesus
was born not later than 7 B.C., His birth would have happened within
LUKE, INT. 263
the reign of Herod; but then our Lord, if He began His ministry
in the 1 5th year of the Emperor Tiberius (14-37 A.D.), i.e., in 28
A.D., would have been thirty-four or thirty-five, not " about thirty,"
as stated in Lk. 3. 23. To preclude this discrepancy, it has been
suggested that the regnal years of Tiberius may be reckoned by the
Evangelist not from the death of Augustus in 14 A.D. but from the
year n A.D., when Tiberius received from Augustus authority over
the provinces and the army equal to the Emperor's : " the fifteenth
year " of Tiberius would then be 25 A.D., and Jesus, if born in 7 B.C.,
would be 31 or 32, for which the expression " about thirty " might
suffice. Certain Patristic writers, however, state that the Cruci-
fixion took place in 29 A.D. ; so that, if Jesus' ministry lasted only a
year, or rather less (as St. Mark's Gospel seems to imply), 
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